Police will be using a new crime-fighting tool in Bicester to clamp down on anti-social behaviour and domestic incidents.

Officers will don special cameras so they can make visual recordings of possible offences. Four of the cameras will be used for the first time in the town this weekend.

The gadgets, which were tested by PC Nicki Entwistle in October last year, cost £850 each and have been bought using a grant from the Home Office.

PC Entwistle said: "We believe that these cameras will deter people from anti-social behaviour and crime.

"They are overt cameras. People will be aware that they are being filmed. And even if they are not aware, we will tell them when we stop to talk to them."

Any footage captured, say of unruly teenagers, could be shown to parents to give them an insight into what their children had been up to.

The compact and lightweight digital camera transmits images via a cable to a small digital video recorder worn on the officers belt. The camera also has a microphone and works equally well during the day or night.

Bicester PC Simon Rowett said: "During local and national trials, it was found that incidents of alcohol-related crime and disorder or aggressive behaviour were greatly reduced whenever the cameras were deployed. Signs informing the Bicester public that the special cameras may be used in the community have been displayed around the town. Officers wearing the equipment will also have an identification arm band, indicating they have the equipment."