The faces of missing people, emergency messages and public safety warnings are just some of the things being flashed across Basildon's new community televisions.

In what is a first for Essex, the district is playing host to ten of the public information screens.

Set to be watched by an audience of 160,000 of Basildon's residents the plasma TVs will continuously broadcast silent films including information about community groups, health messages, news and weather.

The screens, which are in supermarkets, health centres and Basildon Hospital, will also flash up images and information about local missing people, warnings about road closures and crimes.

Basildon Crime and Reduction Partnership - which is made up of representatives from the police, fire service and council - hope it will help cut the number of criminal offences as well as reducing the fear of crime.

Bala Mahendran, chairman of the partnership and Basildon Council's chief executive, said: "This is an excellent opportunity for us to tell residents about the work which is being done in the district to help reduce crime and make people feel safer.

"We have a lot of good news and important information to pass on to our residents and this television network is an ideal way of doing it."

Speaking at the launch of the £60,000-a-year-project, which went live on Friday, Mr Mahendran said the TVs could been used to give out information about road closures like those following Thursday's major fire in Billericay.

Basildon MP Angela Smith said she hoped the TVs would eventually be rolled out further across the district, but Billericay MP John Baron said they should not discourage face-to-face contact.

He added: "Any improved communication between the council, partnership and public has got to be good, but we mustn't exclusively rely on TVs.

"Police stations and the council must remain open. The TVs are a useful tool, but at the end of the day we must always have facilities where we can talk to people."