Google chased out of small British town for being too prying

If that is not ironic, I hang up my hat. A Google street car designed to take those street-level pictures which are so useful got chased out of a small British town.. because it was invading their privacy.

Now, if one thing is true of small British towns, it is that everyone loves to know everything about everyone else. Apparently however, while this is an acceptable trait in Miss. Higgenbottom across the street, it is not acceptable for a faceless advertising giant like Google.

A classic quote:

"My immediate reaction was anger: How dare anyone take a photograph of my home without my consent? I ran outside to flag the car down and told the driver he was not only invading our privacy but also facilitating crime.

"This is an affluent area. We've already had three burglaries locally in the past six weeks. If our houses are plastered all over Google it's an invitation for more criminals to strike. I was determined to make a stand, so I called the police."

Google, does of course allow people to request images are taken down.