Croydon’s emergency services were on high alert at last weekend after intelligence reports suggested gangs could cause mayhem at Halloween.

The Croydon Guardian was offered exclusive access to the close circuit television control room to see what was being done to combat the evening’s crime.

To get into the building unaccompanied would challenge even the most proficient burglar, with each entrance watched by CCTV and security passes needed to open every door.

The CCTV control room is hidden deep under the council’s headquarters in Taberner House and is staffed by members of the public.

Screens cover the walls of the underground room and radios repeatedly crackle to life with reports from PCSOs, police officers, paramedics and security staff.

The team at Croydon Council’s underground control room are hailed by the emergency services as “invaluable”.

Cameras covering the whole of Croydon send crystal clear images back to the control centre, where the staff watch for something to happen.

Sergeant Ian Courtman, of the Croham safer neighbourhoods team, said: “These guys are true professionals, they really know what they are doing in here and are invaluable to the guys on the ground.

“Halloween is obviously a time of year when kids are out late and some people take advantage of the fact you can walk around in costume.

“We are fielding a heavy presence in the borough tonight to reassure people that we will not tolerate acts of antisocial behaviour, scaring people and causing trouble.”

The sergeant uses a camera to watch a group of boys in their late teens on their way through North End.

The boys are wearing masks perched on their heads which automatically rings alarm bells with Sgt Courtman.

He said: “You just think to yourself, fair enough, it is Halloween but why does a 19-year-old man needs to be wearing a mask? They’re are too old to be trick-or-treating and if they did try it they would terrify whoever opened the door.” Later, the controllers follow groups of teens carrying bags that the camera’s zoom ascertains are full of illegally bought booze.

The youngsters seem to be flocking in the same direction.

They follow one of the groups until they lose them in one of the camera network’s few blind spots.

Seconds later, after a well practiced flick through the many cameras in that area, they happen across a party in a noisy Thornton Heath street. A house has a stream of youngsters flooding into it and more approaching from each direction.

One of controllers said: “We don’t want to be kill-joys but it is the mess afterwards that we worry about. It is a party with young people drinking so if there is a responsible adult in charge we don’t have that much of a problem with it.

“Most of the time there isn’t an adult about, which leads to all kinds of antisocial problems, drunkeness, criminal damage and, because of the time of year, teens using fireworks.

“That means that at some point in the night the fire service, ambulance service and the police will all need to be called out, taking them off the streets when they could be dealing with something more important.”