SECURITY is to be increased outside Felixstowe port to stop gangs stealing containers with valuable goods.A new closed circuit television system and many more street lights are earmarked for the industrial area to deter criminals.

SECURITY is to be increased outside Felixstowe port to stop gangs stealing containers with valuable goods.

A new closed circuit television system and many more street lights are earmarked for the industrial area to deter criminals.

The proposals have been put forward by landowner Trinity College for roads outside the port perimeter and a planning application has been submitted to Suffolk Coastal District Council.

It would cost £160,000 or more to bring in the street lighting and the cost of leasing four cameras could be about £20,000 a year.

The extra security is planned for Nicholas Road, Blofield Road, Parker Avenue, Fagbury Road, Anzani Avenue, Hodgkinson Road and Dooley Road.

The cameras are planned for the Blofield Road roundabout; Fagbury Road at the junction with Parker Avenue; the junction of Hodgkinson Road and Ferry Lane, and the junction of Dooley Road and Walton Avenue.

Bidwells property consultants, Martlesham Heath, circulated a questionnaire to commercial users last summer asking for comments on plans to increase the security and said there had previously been no particular emphasis on security issues on the industrial estate.

Blofield Road was where an audacious kidnap took place early last year when a gang of thieves dressed as policemen captured security guard Stewart Williams.

He was left by the roadside on the A414 between Ongar and Chelmsford and required hospital treatment for wrist and shoulder injuries. The thieves made off with consignments of Nike designer footwear and boys' trousers.

The planning application does not cover the 700-acre port where strict security is already in place. Patrols by port police, the photographing of every driver and registration plate, security posts and two metre high razor wire topped fencing are among the security measures.

The Road Haulage Association says more than £500m worth of trucks and goods are stolen nationally each year.