FROM a top secret location, a small group of people are watching over our every move.

Once, the thought of rows of TV screens showing a live feed from hundreds of cameras dotted across a town sounded sinister- and perhaps to some it still does.

But today, you are more likely to hear people demanding more CCTV, with better quality images, than talking about George Orwell’s famous dystopian novel 1984.

Barry Davis, team manager of Southend Council’s trailblazing CCTV centre, believes the reason is very simple- it works.

He said: “You have to prove its worth and show what you are doing. My view is that we are the best kept secret.”

Southend Council operates 165 cameras, mainly around hotspots like the High Street, Seafront, London Road, York Road and Hamlet Court Road.

Unlike the vast majority of councils in Essex, Southend’s cameras are monitored 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Last year, operators dealt with more than 7,000 incidents, including crimes, accidents and missing persons.

The Echo was invited to the centre to watch how operators work and to view some of the footage.

Mr Davis said: “We have a saying that anything can happen at any time of day.

“So when you think you are having a quiet time something will happen. Whether it’s street begging, shoplifting or other incidents we know where to look at what time of day.”

A database containing the faces of more than 60 villains is available on screens, which has helped to target drug dealers.

He said: “The known individuals know where the cameras are and as soon as they start turning they will cover their heads.

“But even when they think they are being clever the camera will find another angle.

“Some of our best jobs are where people don’t realise they are on camera and they think they have got away with something.”

To illustrate his point, Mr Davis showed the Echo footage of an incident that happened at the back of the Sealife Adventure, in Eastern Esplanade, last year.

A 15-year-old boy points a replica handgun at a man’s head, before a passer-by calls the police.

The boy then goes onto the beach, thinking he cannot be seen, buries the gun and leaves a mound of sand on top before walking off.

CCTV operators are then able to direct armed cops to the boy while talking another officer over to the gun.

Other incidents are less dramatic.

Mr Davis said: “We had someone who had damaged a Christmas tree in the high street and then walked off all the way down London Road.

“The police got to him and his face was a picture. They often say: ‘How did you get me?’ And you see the officer point to the camera. Those are the jobs we like.”

Tragic incidents are also caught on film.

Mr Davis said on his very first day in the job he witnessed a woman confiscate a gun from her grandson, an eight-year-old boy get run over and a woman kill herself in the sea.

As a result, operators can receive the same kind of post traumatic counselling as emergency services workers.

The council’s set up has won an award from the UK’s industry authority the CCTV User Group and Mr Davis also received an individual award for his management.

But Mr Davis said the most satisfying reward is seeing a successful prosecution or a missing person reunited with their family.