HEREFORDSHIRE has quite literally been put on the map after several Google Street View cars were spotted out and about in the county last week.

The camera-clad vehicles were seen near Aylestone Hill and Stretton Sugwas snapping away for the internet giant’s latest drive to make 360-degree images of towns and cities across the UK available online.

They have been the subject of national debate since Street View launched in March, with some expressing concerns over privacy rights and potential criminal activity, but locally, the reception seems to have been a warm one.

Bus driver Mike Broom, who spotted one coming into Hereford, said: “I know some people are against it but I’m not, I’m the other way round – I am fascinated by it all.”

The 34-year-old Kington resident has already used it to view an ancestor’s house in London and is looking forward to his children finding out where he used to live in years to come.

“The chances of Google coming to Kington are a bit slim but I wouldn’t object to them taking a photo of my house,” he said.

Google spokesperson Laura Scott said that, when the pictures went live in a few months’ time, any concerned residents could request the removal of pictures on the site itself.

She added that any captured faces or number plates would be blurred out.

She also outlined how the service would help locals and said: “Already millions of British people have benefited from Street View, whether to get driving directions, find local businesses, or explore a tourist destination.”