Police in Great Yarmouth will be stepping up patrols in areas of high street crime in the town as part of a trial targeted at preventing offences from every taking place.

The town's police has mapped areas based on five years of crime data and will now be putting out officers in high crime areas for three consecutive days to deter offenders.

News of the trial as part of a national initiative was revealed at a policing priority setting meeting held in Great Yarmouth on Thursday night.

Sgt Dan Smith, operational partnership manager for Great Yarmouth Police, told the public meeting about the new patrols in the area identified by the new data.

He said: "We are going to put police officers into those areas. They will be there for three consecutive days."

Sgt Smith added he hoped the officers would get "noticed" by the people who commit crimes.

In analysing the crime data Sgt Smith said Great Yarmouth had one one fifth of the crime levels of Southend in Essex and Norfolk was "really a safe county".

The Safer Neighbourhood Action Panel priority setting at Smudgers Bar at Great Yarmouth Football Club saw 10 people attend and two log in via Microsoft teams to vote on new priorities for beat managers.

The meeting heard that in another boost in helping to keep the town safe, four CCTV cameras had gone up in and around the Wellesley Recreation Ground and were installed in Kitchener Road, Northgate Street and Nelson Road with more planned for King Street, Deneside, St Peter's Street and Victoria Road.

Funding for the cameras comes from a Safer Streets government project.

The meeting heard how previously set police priorities were being tackled.

Issues of anti-social behaviour in the Stanley Terrace, Manby Road and Gordon Terrace had led to more police patrols and a future two night operation is planned with plain clothes officers.

An issue of people causing stairwell fires in Yarmouth Way had also been tackled.

The meeting also heard how Great Yarmouth Borough Council was tackling anti-social behaviour with new security measures in place at Grenville Close.

The extra police patrols come as Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner Giles Orpen-Smellie pledged the county will see more officers out on town and village streets.

How the Safer Neighbourhood Action Panel works

Members of the public attend regular panel meetings to vote on priorities that have been sent in and also they can suggest what police beat managers should focus on in their patches.

Issues discussed on Thursday included damage to a bird hide on Breydon Water, attempted car break-ins in Nursery Terrace, drug dealing and anti-social behaviour round the Peggotty Road area and Bethel Court and speeding and concerns over e-scooter use in south Yarmouth.

At Thursday's meeting attendees voted on for several priorities including providing a reassuring police presence for the new £4.7m market place, targeting crime hotspots in south Yarmouth and the new beat manager for Caister getting out and about as much as he can.

All priorities are published on Norfolk Police's website and Great Yarmouth Police's social media feeds, where information is also available on attending future sessions.

Sgt Dan Smith said the panel was all about policing with the public's consent and allowed attendees to challenge where the focus should be for officers.