The CCTV camera facing the Bellingham street were a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death earlier this month has faulty wiring causing it to “trip out”,  it has emerged.

Jay Hughes, who has been described as “sweet and caring,” died from a stab wound to the heart after he was attacked outside Morley’s chicken shop in Randlesdown Road on November 1.

But the CCTV facing Randlesdown Road “trips out occasionally and sometimes at difficult times”, cabinet member for safer communities Cllr Joani Reid explained at a Lewisham Council mayor and cabinet meeting.

Lewisham Council did not clarify whether the CCTV was fully functional at the time of the murder, but footage shared online claims to depict the moment the 15-year-old was stabbed.

This comes as the council’s plans to save £161k through dropping CCTV footage viewing from 24 hours to 12 hours a day was progressed.

Bellingham ward councillor Alan Hall implored cabinet members to re-think the proposal, and said he had been told the CCTV does not work in Randlesdown Road.

“I represent one of the poorest wards in Lewisham, one of the poorest wards in London where community engagement is very, very difficult,” he said.

“I have left a meeting with the Met Police, with the primary schools, with the secondary school, with the special schools and we are very concerned – we have been hit hard with a murder in our midst.

“The CCTV on Randlesdown Road does not work,” he said.

Cllr Reid said the CCTV is working but “trips occasionally.”

“The CCTV is working. I have looked at it. Unfortunately it trips occasionally and sometimes at quite difficult moments but it is actually in operation,” she said.

A Lewisham Council spokesperson said: “The CCTV on Randlesdown Road facing Bellingham has temporarily tripped on a few occasions due to an electrical fault. This is a priority and is being dealt with and we fully expect it to be fixed within the next week.”

Lewisham Council will now consult with the public on the plans to reduce the hours of monitored CCTV, which a councillor described as “appalling” this month.