SECURITY shutters could be installed at a Chatteris store to combat vandalism that has cost �12,000 over the past year.

The Co-op wants to erect the shutters at their food outlet in Bridge Street after being the “victim of ongoing and persistent vandalism”.

In an application now before Fenland District Council the store says every incident of damage to windows has to be reported to be police to obtain a crime number for insurance purposes.

“This takes up valuable police resources completing the necessary paperwork each and every time,” said a spokesman. “These are resources which could be better deployed within the community.”

The company monitored the costs of repairs from May 2010 to April 2011 and said the cost came to more than �12,000.

The proposal is to erect electrically operated roller shutters on the south and west elevations.

The company insists the shutters “will not affect the character of the building”.