Two CCTV cameras installed as a safety precaution before the Notting Hill Carnival were pointed directly into a naked man’s London apartment, leaving him “horrified.”
Darren Turner claims the cameras were installed on the scaffolding outside his ninth-floor North Kensington home, which he learned about after getting out of the bath.
He ultimately decided to cover every window in his home because he felt the cameras were a “complete invasion of my privacy.” The circumstance, according to Mr. Turner, “made me feel really uncomfortable.”
The festival had been cancelled the previous three years due to COVID-19, but Kensington and Chelsea Council claims the cameras were installed to catch people who tried to climb the scaffolding during the festival.
According to officials, the motion detectors should only take a picture when there is activity outside the house.
According to Mr. Turner, the cameras were positioned outside of his kitchen and living room and pointed in his direction.
He said to My London on Thursday, “When I first discovered them, I had just taken a bath and went to my lounge completely naked.”
I was terrified to see the enormous [cameras] as I went to the window to fetch a towel from the airer.
“I noticed that they are all angled toward my home when I looked at them.”
He described the situation as “extremely stressful,” and he expressed concern over what the cameras might be recording.
Mr. Turner said, “If a child was running around naked, they could have been [photographed]. I had to cover each window in my home. I’ve felt really uneasy about it.
Residents’ worries were recognised by a council representative, but the spokesperson clarified to the TV station that “items on the scaffolding are motion sensor cameras and not CCTV cameras.”
According to the council, “They were put as an additional safety measure prior to Carnival and will be removed shortly thereafter.”
Unfortunately, although homeowners were advised that additional safety and security measures were being implemented, they were not given the specifics.
“We have written to every resident to explain,” the company said. We have also looked over the motion sensor camera images and are confident that they point at the scaffolding and the site compound rather than the residences.
After a three-year hiatus, Notting Hill Carnival will return and close down a sizable portion of west London from early Sunday morning to early Tuesday morning.
Since 1966, the Caribbean festival has been held in London every year with the exception of the Covid era cancellations.
Steel bands and calypso music will play as costumed performers and elaborate floats parade through the city streets.
Along the parade route, food stands and bars will be present.
The festival has historically been associated with a number of crimes. A Freedom of Information request made to the Met Police during the previous Notting Hill Carnival revealed that 463 crime allegations were made inside the carnival area in just two days.
There were 209 allegations of drug offences during the festival, making up the majority of them.
Additionally, 88 thefts, robberies, and break-ins were reported, along with six offences involving criminal property damage.