INVERCLYDE'S network of crime-busting CCTV cameras has been completely out of commission for more than two weeks — with NO indication of when it will be fixed.

The vital tool — which has been relied upon by police and prosecutors to obtain convictions against offenders throughout the district — is not working due to an 'upgrade' glitch.

The Telegraph became aware of the issue following a report of a suspected drunk driver having having caused her car to collide with the rear of another vehicle at traffic lights on Greenock's Brougham Street.

A police officer assigned to investigate the hit-and-run incident informed the owner of the vehicle that had been struck that the CCTV system has been 'offline' for more than a fortnight.

Inverclyde Council has now admitted it cannot provide an estimate of when it will be back online.

A local authority spokesman said: "For operational and security reasons we cannot go into detail but there is an issue as a result of a system upgrade with a third party operator and we are working closely with them to resolve the situation as a matter of urgency."

The system has 40 fixed cameras and four mobile ones.

The outage comes less than three years after Inverclyde Council and Police Scotland — who jointly fund the system — hailed a new £200,000 network of cameras in October of 2019.

Councillor Tommy McVey, then-chair of the local police and fire scrutiny committee, said at the time: "There's no doubt about how valuable CCTV is in terms of preventing crime and helping the police detect crime and prosecute criminals.

"The new system allows cameras to be moved where and when required so the four mobile cameras can be used to monitor crime 'hotspots' and any other place where it's suspected illegal or anti-social activity is happening.

"It will also mean safer streets for local people and will help to reassure them when they are out and about."

Inverclyde police, despite jointly funding the cameras through the overall Police Scotland budget, refused to comment on the ongoing loss of an integral tool in fighting crime in the district.

Inspector Paul Thompson, of Inverclyde's Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: Invervision was an Inverclyde Council CCTV system and it would therefore not be appropriate to comment on their behalf.

However, local police did comment at the time of the new system being installed in 2019.

Sergeant Jason Logsdon, of Inverclyde police, said then: "This considerable investment in upgrading to a high quality CCTV system demonstrates commitment to Inverclyde residents as part of maintaining a safe, secure and responsible community for the public.

"CCTV provides the public with reassurance and is very useful for deterring and detecting offences as well as being a useful crime reduction tool."