A WINSFORD man is so fed up with vandalism and nuisance youths on his estate he has taken to gathering his own evidence.

Nick Carter, of Esk Road, in the Wharton estate, installed a security camera in an upstairs window at his home.

The video, which is now in the hands of the police, shows a youth throwing stones at Mr Carter's windows while another group encourage him by supplying him with ammunition.

Mr Carter said: "It is clear enough to identify those involved and that is using cheap, low quality equipment.

"It is a £35 camera with 20 metres of cable plugged into the back of an ordinary video recorder.

"We just switch it on and start recording, you cannot get a much cheaper or amateurish set up, but it is effective.

Mr Carter, a former member of the now defunct Crook Lane and Wharton Gardens Residents' Association, felt the problems on the estate were getting out of control and decided to take some positive action himself.

He added: "You end up with a piece of evidence on tape which you can give to the police and you can just see for yourselves what happens."

However, police recommend caution when evidence gathering as video footage needs to be clear to be admissible and such activity can give victims of crime even more problems.

A spokesman said: "We would not want people undertaking any activity that would put them in more danger.

"We would recommend where there is a problem of people being intimidated by anti-social behaviour they should call the police."