Protesters from clashed during a march calling for a safer neighbourhood.

Walthamstow Village residents took to the streets with banners on Saturday demanding CCTV and more bobbies on the beat following recent violent crimes including the stabbing of a 15-year-old and the murder of a woman in St Mary’s Church grounds.

But anti-crime campaigners came head to head with a group of protesters who were condemning the proliferation of a “Big Brother” community by installing cameras.

Chairman of Walthamstow Safer Streets Association who organised the march, Roger Carter, said: “There were protesters from Leyton saying they didn’t want CCTV cameras.

“I don’t really want big brother looking at me all the time but would like one that records, so that police can catch people after the event. It also might deter people from committing a crime if they see a camera there. They won’t know whether it is being monitored all the time or not.

“But if this area had had CCTV when the boy was stabbed, police would have been able to watch it and maybe use it as evidence.”

A petition signed by more than 1,000 residents was been presented to the local authority, which is currently reviewing its borough-wide CCTV system.

Liberal Democratic councillors John Macklin and James O’Rourke joined protesters on the march.

Cllr O’Rourke, of High Street ward, said afterwards: “It is not just about CCTV but increasing the number of police there. The perception is that crime has gone up, but statistics show that is not as bad as what people think, in terms of reported crime.

“But when you think about that poor woman who was beaten to death in the churchyard. It was a violent crime and people need to know about it.

“The protest was calling for CCTV, but as Roger Carter said, we need not just CCTV but more bobbies on the beat.”