FURIOUS dad Wayne Carpenter said complaints that newly erected CCTV cameras are pointing into his daughter’s bedroom are being ignored by Swindon Council.

Mr Carpenter, from Poplar Avenue, Pinehurst, said he was in favour of the cameras, believing they would put an end to the anti social behaviour that blights his neighbourhood.

But just one day after the swivel camera was put in place, the lens moved so it is now pointing into nine-year-old Chelsea’s bedroom.

Mr Carpenter said his daughter is so distressed by the camera she is staying with her grandmother at the end of the street.

“She is very sensitive and is understandably upset that a camera is peering straight into her bedroom,” he said. “Until it moves she can’t sleep in that room.”

Mr Carpenter, who also has an 11-year-old son, Wayne Jr, said he thought the problem could be solved with a simple phone call, but a week on the camera is still directed at the three-bedroom semi.

“I am livid,” said Mr Carpenter. “The cameras are supposed to protect us from troublemakers but instead they’re making my family feel like they are being watched.

“My daughter should not have to feel like that in her own home when she should be playing happily in her room.

“It would be easy to say ‘just shut the curtains’ but why should I keep my curtains closed 24/7 when the point is that I shouldn’t have a spy camera pointing into my house?”

Mr Carpenter, 42, said he made two complaints to the council on May 5, a day after the camera was installed.

“But here we are almost a week on and still nothing’s been done,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Swindon Council said: “A camera was installed in Poplar Avenue some months ago at the request of residents and local agencies following incidents of crime and disorder. It was a positive attempt to help local people feel safer in their homes.

“Recently, the camera experienced technical difficulties and was removed. The camera was reinstalled last week but again developed a fault and was removed this morning (May 10) for further repairs.

“At no point between installation of the camera last week and the complaint being made has the camera been switched on, and even when these cameras are in operation, they do not record any intrusive activity taking place inside someone’s home.

“Clear rules exist to ensure licensed CCTV operators don’t do this. Any breach of these rules would result in the removal of their licence from the Security Industry Authority and loss of employment.”