CCTV Bean cans

A local council is to use hidden cameras to catch residents who leave rubbish out on the wrong day.

CCTV devices will be disguised inside objects such as baked bean cans and house bricks to film offenders.

The covert surveillance has been ordered by Ealing council to target "enviro-criminals" - those who leave out black bags when they should not or let the contents spill on to the pavement. Offenders can be issued with onthe-spot fines of up to £1,000.

Cameras will be installed around the London borough before the change in collections from weekly to fortnightly. But today the move was attacked as an invasion of privacy.

The cameras, which cost about £200 each, are triggered by builtin movement sensors. It is understood they are to be used to catch large-scale fly-tippers and graffiti vandals but the council said residents who failed to abide by refuse collection times would also be punished.