On the one hand you could say it's an abuse of civil liberties, an infringement of our rights as citizens not to be spied upon, particularly in an age when we're already watched by CCTV from every quarter.

It's an important principle to be aware of – after all this country has always prided itself on its liberalism and freedom. We are not, and never should be, a police state.

This sense of unease is heightened by the fact that the legislation which allows this to happen was brought in recently as part of new powers to combat terrorism.

Which is a stark contrast to the rogue fly-tippers, taxi drivers and even food preparers who are now being watched by local authorities in West Yorkshire under the suspicion of being up to no good.

But this isn't an abuse of the power, nor is it a loophole which is being exploited by paranoid people at the top.

Although the legislation was introduced to combat terror, part of the statute also gives permission to organisations to keep a watchful eye on the public which is, after all, for the greater good.

It is also one of the last means at our disposable of combating illegal activity which has a very real impact on our lives in so many ways.

We've tried countless other ways of preventing crimes from occurring and so often prosecutors are hampered by a lack of evidence whenever it comes time to punish offenders.

Surely, as uneasy as it might make us feel, using surveillance in this way should only be a threat to those who really warrant surveillance.

Ordinary members of the public should have nothing to fear from this, in fact they ought to feel safer because of it.

The only caveat is that those who use these powers continue to do so responsibly and in the best interests of the majority of the population.



Hail the King

ELVIS ain't dead, he's alive and well and living in West Yorkshire – or so you could be fooled into thinking.

David Smith from Castleford has now been judged as giving the best impersonation in the county, which is quite an achievement by anyone's standards.

He's spent years perfecting The King's trademark hip swing and lip curl as well as that unmistakable voice – and now he's clearly got him off to a tee.

Yes, brace yourself Yorkshire... Elvis is back in the building.