SHOPKEEPERS in Witney are demanding CCTV cameras after suffering years of vandalism.

Rosa Floral Designs in Wesley Walk has had its windows smashed eight times in the past 11 years.

In the latest attack, on Thursday, shop owner Rosa Ashby said a cone was thrown into her window, shattering the glass and leaving her with a £300 repair bill.

Now shopkeepers are renewing calls for cameras to be installed along the parade of shops.

Mrs Ashby said: “I have been fighting to get a camera in Wesley Walk for eight years, but the council has refused.

“It is one of the few places in Witney where there is no camera. But this is a public route.

“Everytime we get a smashed window, we have to pay for that window out of our own money as our insurance excess is £200.”

Paint was thrown over the florist’s windows in April and another window was smashed 10 months ago.

She added: “Something has to be done to get a camera as we feel intimidated in our own shop. Things are happening that people can’t see. A camera would record what happens.”

Clothes shop Renaissance has also been targeted by vandals, with paint thrown across the shop front.

Owner Jean Chattoe said: “We definitely need CCTV.We get a lot of aggravation.”

Bill Oddy, West Oxfordshire District Council’s head of community services, said the council would not be installing cameras itself.

But he added: “Other private shopping centres, such as the Woolgate Centre and Marriotts Close, install CCTV cameras themselves, and we are happy to then monitor these for free, which costs us approximately £4,000 annually.”

Steven Ingledew, finance director of Oxford Parklands – owners of Wesley Walk, said: “It’s definitely something we would consider if the shops are getting aggravation.”