The family of a Melksham woman who died following a town centre collision have called for an independent inquiry after CCTV footage from the time of the incident was found to be missing.
Cheryl Decarteret, 79, died after being struck by a white Ford Transit van which was reversing outside Savers on Lowbourne on 27th September. Her friend, Margaret Shaw, sustained life-threatening injuries.
One of Melksham Town Council’s taxpayer-funded CCTV cameras overlooks the Savers store, however around 30 minutes of footage from the time of the incident is unavailable.
The family have been campaigning for answers following the collision and say the absence of CCTV footage has caused additional distress.
Cheryl’s son Scott Thomson said, “The family is calling on the Liberal Democrats for an independent investigation into Melksham Town Council Data Control Office and CCTV system, with the outcome of the investigation to be published for the public to see.
“This would help provide answers as to why the footage of our mum’s death is missing. Not having access to this footage has caused our family additional distress at a difficult time when we are already struggling to come to terms with our loss.
“We hope that an investigation will bring some clarity, help us understand what happened, ensure transparency and maintain public confidence in the town’s CCTV.”
Concerns about the reliability of the town’s CCTV system had been raised prior to the incident. Ten days beforehand, Melksham News raised concerns in a meeting with senior council staff after being told the council’s CCTV cameras were not working properly. When asked whether any action was taken, the council has not responded.
The council has since confirmed that a “variable” number of the 75 CCTV cameras it operates experience dropouts, a problem it said has been ongoing since the system was installed in 2024.
When CCTV logs were requested, Melksham News was informed that logging of dropouts was only introduced on 2nd December 2025, the same day questions were first raised about the issue.
A council spokesperson said, “We have now implemented logging. The fact that we never used to do it has only come to light recently, and it was a procedural oversight inherited from previous management.”
Following the collision, Melksham News asked whether CCTV footage from the camera covering the area had been handed to police. In response, the council said, “We have complied with and will continue to comply with any request made to us by the police. We are unable to comment further on ongoing police investigations.”
Melksham News queried why the council could not comment on this incident when it had previously issued a public statement on Facebook confirming CCTV footage had been shared with police following another town centre incident, when a man was assaulted with a hammer in October.
The council’s CEO said, “For access to information for the press, the council initially withheld comments on the CCTV footage due to the ongoing investigation. We regret any confusion caused by the differing information provided and therefore will not comment on social media on CCTV relating to any incidents.”
Melksham News asked the town council for a response to the Decarteret family’s call for a CCTV inquiry, but no response has been given.
Pictured: The CCTV cameras as soon from the incident site. (Inset: council CCTV cameras)
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