Staunton man dubs Google Streetview "an invasion of privacy"

Has Google Street View arrived in Gloucestershire?

A Staunton couple believe a Google agent was filming by their home prompting fears over an invasion of their privacy.

Google Street View is a controversial mapping system online which allows people to search for 360 pictures of 'virtual' streets.

So far, it has been rolled out in 25 British cities, but Stephen Pond and his wife Cyndy believe it has reached Gloucestershire.

They were enjoying lunch with friends on Sunday when they spotted a camera pointing at their house from over their hedge.

Mr Pond, 61, a driver for Hartpury College, confronted the agent who was driving an un-marked Opel Astra car who said he was taking photographs for the new Google Street View project.

He said: "My wife said 'that looks like a Google camera' so we ran after the car. I had to bang on the window to try to stop him.

"We told him we didn't want our house included and he wrote it down, but I do have my doubts.

"I knew they were going to be doing the cities but I had no idea they were coming out to the countryside."

He added: "I suppose it is because I value my privacy.

"We were sitting behind our patio doors and they could have seen right into the house. It's just such an invasion of privacy."

A spokeswoman for Google said she has no way of confirming exactly where their cars are working but she said Google cars were usually identifiable by a sticker on the side of the car.

She said: "We have brought some privacy concerns into the Street View process.

"Where people's faces are visible, we will blur them out, and we will also be blurring out vehicle license plates.

"If anyone doesn't want their face, dog, car, or house displayed, they can hit the Report a Problem area on the screen and we will remove it.

"It is very difficult to see into houses, but we are taking those extra precautions so that where people may be included, they can be removed."

She added the service offered fantastic opportunities for tourism and for drivers who might want to see their route before they left.

A Gloucestershire police spokeswoman said residents were urged to report anything suspicious in their street.

"We would like to take this opportunity to urge members of the community to contact police immediately on 0845 090 1234 if they see people behaving suspiciously in their area," she said.

"We would much rather receive calls of suspicious circumstances that turn out to be legitimate than see residents become the victims of crime."