Every tower block in Oxford could get a personal concierge to stop crime, because security cameras are too expensive to install.

A city tower block

Residents of Windrush Tower, in Blackbird Leys, have suffered months of homeless people breaking in to sleep on the stairs and leaving drugs needles behind.

An Oxford City Council report into making tower blocks safer recommends a concierge to control access 24 hours a day at Plowman Tower, in Marston; Foresters Tower, in Wood Farm; and Evenlode and Windrush Towers, in Blackbird Leys.

Five months ago, the council planned to install security cameras on each floor, with satellite technology, but the idea has been blocked by sky-high costs.

The concierge scheme would see access controlled by doormen based in monitoring suites.

They would record all entries, ring tenants when a visitor arrives and stop people from employing the widely-used tricks of 'tail-gating' behind tenants or pressing every intercom to gain access to flats.

Tower block tenants will pay extra council tax to fund the scheme. The full cost will be revealed in November.

Cara Starkey, 19, a mother-of-one who lives in Windrush Tower, said: "There are always people sleeping on the stairs and making a mess. You aren't going to catch anyone with cameras. With someone here all the time, they will be ready to catch them."

Stephan Cunningham, 23, of Windrush Tower, said: "I've had to pick up loads of needles from the stairs. This means complaints will be dealt with straight away and people won't mind paying for it."

CCTV cameras currently watch over the entrances and lift lobbies in all four towers.

Pensioner Joan Beavon, 67, of Plowman Tower, Marston, said: "I would feel safer with a concierge if it was done properly. Nobody likes to pay for it, so it would depend on how much."

Ali Faraji, 33, of Windrush Tower, said: "I prefer CCTV. The doorman is only one person and could fall asleep or not turn up."

Residents from Windrush Tower held talks with city council housing officers last week to complain about people forcing their way through the doors and taking drugs and sleeping rough on stairs.

Police and street wardens will meet with a newly formed tenants association to tackle the problem.

City councillor Carole Roberts said: "When you enter that front door it's their house. It's very distressing. People need to use the stairs and they shouldn't come across people sleeping there or taking drugs."

A council spokesman said: "If we provide a new service for tenants, it has to be included in their service charge. We're currently looking at the economic feasibility to introduce this service. The report did conclude that it was not practical to put CCTV cameras on every floor of our four tower blocks."

The council said it was not yet at the stage of recruiting, or training the doormen.

The recommendation comes from consultation with Witney-based Optimum Security Services who have designed concierge systems for a block of 42 towers in Solihull, Huddersfield and Bristol.