Budding young Reading rappers are being challenged to use their skills to promote a new form of CCTV that tells off yobs and litterbugs when it catches them in the act. The Safer Reading Campaign is teaming up with local radio station Reading 107fm to run a special prize competition for young people, aimed at finding the best crap, er we mean rap, to promote a new 'Talking CCTV' initiative.

The first entries have already been pouring in from all the groovy with-it hoopy dudes out there:

• It's on the front page of the papers, This is their hour of need. Where's a policeman, when you need one? He's watching his colour TV.
  Sent in by Master Neil Tennant Aged 10½
• See them walking hand in hand across Reading bridge at midnight. Heads turning as the blue lights flashing out are so bright. Then run across the fourline track. There's a train running over her back, over her back. And I sense we could have stopped her if we'd only deployed some more staff.
  Submitted by Master Simon Le Bon Aged 8¾
• If it wasn't such a waste of money, these talking cameras would be funny
  Entry by Rupert T. Bear

The winner will have their crap played on radio and will also get the chance to be one of the first people to use the new talking CCTV to reprimand someone caught in the act while littering the streets or other antisocial behaviour. Tony Page has already volunteered to be the first photocall 'victim' as a seasoned observer of the criminal justice system.

Supt Steve Kirk, Commander for Reading, said: "I think the cameras are a complete waste of time and money as do most of my officers, but I'm not going to start knocking Council gimmicks in press releases because they'll replace more frontline policemen with Community Support Officers if I'm not careful."