Doctor tells of horror at CCTV camera by bathroom window
A doctor has told of her horror after discovering her neighbours had installed a CCTV camera outside her bathroom window.
East Lothian Council’s planning committee heard that the first she knew of her neighbour’s newly installed cameras was when she stepped into her garden and heard an alarm announce “you are being recorded”.
The committee was asked to approve retrospective plans for four Ring CCTV cameras and 10 outdoor lights at a semi-detached property on Gullane’s Hummel Road.
The woman who lives in the adjoining property had asked them to refuse two of the cameras, which cover her back garden and her bathroom.
She told the committee she realised there was one outside her bathroom when she went for a shower.
She said: “At that point, to my absolute horror, I realised a CCTV camera had been installed on the wall directly outside my bathroom, clearly reflected on the wall mirror facing the shower, and I am even more horrified to say the toilet.
“I cannot begin to tell you the emotional distress this has caused, namely of who has seen this footage of myself in an intimate part of my home.”
Earlier the committee heard from the applicant that the only purpose of the CCTV camera and lights was to protect their property and surrounding area. They were told the cameras had a “curtain” effect which blocked them from looking into their neighbour’s property.
The applicant said: “In recent months there has been an increased rate in house break-ins across East Lothian. The property opposite us was broken into only a few months ago.”
She added that residents
The CCTV camera was clearly reflected on the wall mirror facing the shower
had been encouraged in a letter from police and the local MP to use CCTV.
Councillor Jeremy Findlay, who called in the application after planning officers recommended it for approval, said he had concerns about the camera outside the bathroom and urged fellow members to refuse permission for it.
The committee ordered this camera be removed, but allowed the others to remain.