THE chaos in Worcester city centre yesterday afternoon will have affected thousands of people's lives.

Workers were evacuated from buildings, roads became gridlocked and streets were cordoned off as police reacted to the discovery of a suspect package left at the base of the Elgar statue in the High Street.

The package was spotted by hawk-eyed CCTV operators.

Within half-an-hour, dozens of officers were on the scene.

When CCTV was first introduced, almost 10 years ago, there was, understandably, a considerable amount of opposition.

Cries of "Big Brother" went up from those who were against the scheme and the Evening News, in this column, was cautious about its introduction and what we saw as an erosion of our civil liberties.

However, the consequent decrease in the levels of vandalism and anti-social behaviour brought about by these street-corner cameras has seen numerous conversions - including this newspaper.

There is no doubt that CCTV systems have been extremely effective in combating crime - and terrorism - in public areas, and increasing the public's feelings of safety and security in going about their daily lives.

Many high-profile cases have demonstrated how such systems have enabled the perpetrators of crimes - who might otherwise have evaded justice - to be identified and convicted .

In this instance, when public safety was potentially at risk, CCTV camera operators acted swiftly and, in partnership with the police, effectively, in safeguarding our best interests.