'We'll hire guards to halt Chelsea crime'

BAFTA award-winning artist and photographer Alison Jackson is to hire private security guards at her London home because she is so concerned about rising levels of violent crime.

Ms Jackson, whose lookalike spoofs of the rich and famous have led to TV programmes such as Double Take, is to hire the guards with her Chelsea neighbours.

She claimed she had not seen a "bobby on the beat" for three years despite what she described as an escalation in murders and violent robberies.

Ms Jackson and her neighbours are meeting to discuss ways of raising the money to hire a private security firm to patrol their street, close to where financier John Monckton was stabbed to death on his doorstep in December.

"There is less deterrent to burglars so residents are being forced to have their own security guards," Ms Jackson said. "It makes me angry that there isn't a visible police presence; what we do see are these yellow police signs appealing for witnesses to armed robberies."

In the latest edition of Tatler, fashion stylist Ellie Shepherd says everyone in the area has "either been mugged or knows someone who has". Resident Sarah Standing says: "Never, ever wear a Rolex - even a fake one."

Ms Jackson cited stories of people being mugged in the street, sometimes at gunpoint. She added: "We get a lot of anti-terrorist police in cars stopping and questioning people before taking them off for no reason, but we do not get bobbies on the beat. We have got CCTV in some streets but that does not seem to be enough. We have had a meeting to discuss hiring a private firm although some people are worried about the cost. But I am hopeful."

The national market for neighbourhood patrols has grown to an estimated ?80million. London areas that have taken steps to employ their own guards - at up to ?1,000 a year per household - range from Hadley Wood to Battersea.

The guards have no weapons or police powers but can carry out citizen's arrests. Many are ex-soldiers. Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair has expressed reservations about private firms becoming "quasi-police".

Recorded crime in Kensington and Chelsea has dropped by about 10 per cent since last year but gun crime has increased. A Met spokesman said: "We remain confident that we police the whole of London effectively. If there are concerns in a particular area, hiring private security guards is one option open to residents and we would encourage and support them to work with the police to ensure that people get the benefits."