Oldham residents are being watched by dozens more CCTV cameras in the borough than they were a few years ago, new figures show.

Statistics obtained through freedom of information requests by Ironmongery Direct reveal there were 260 CCTV cameras controlled by the council in summer this year - up 24 per cent from 209 in 2019.

The council says keeping residents safe is a "priority" and it has fitted 52 cameras at five borough Metrolink stops recently to "help passengers and residents feel safer and more confident". 

The three-year increase in Oldham sits above the national average where data from local authorities reveal CCTV has increased by 15 per cent over three years, from 79,022 to 91,081.

Councils were asked how many CCTV cameras they had in operation as of July 2022 and how many they operated in 2019.

CCTV cameras have become ubiquitous in the UK's public spaces, with the country now one of the most surveilled in the world.

The security firm, Corps Monitoring, said that the national rise in CCTV cameras may be due to a fall in the cost of equipment in recent years, plus the wider availability of high-speed internet.

But some local authorities have far more CCTV cameras than Oldham, such as London borough Hackney, which has the highest number of cameras of any local authority in the UK (3,119).

Meanwhile, Gwynedd in Wales saw the largest increase (363 per cent) of the number of CCTV cameras of anywhere in the UK.

Big Brother Watch, a group that campaigns against public surveillance, said that the number of CCTV cameras on the UK's streets is "out of control".

However, the group is most concerned about the potential use of facial recognition to track people, particularly when used by some UK police forces as the group is worried about ingrained biases and racial profiling embedded in the technology.

But there is little evidence to suggest whether facial recognition is also being used by local authorities.

Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, said that the government should commission an independent review into "the scale, capabilities, rights and ethics" of CCTV in the UK.

But Corps Monitoring claim that the wider availability of CCTV cameras is an asset to people and businesses looking to improve their security.

In January, the government updated its code of practice for surveillance cameras, saying that any cameras should be only used for a "specific purpose", and that operators should be as transparent as possible regarding how they are used.

In response, council leader, Cllr Amanda Chadderton, said: “The safety of residents is a priority for the council and it’s an issue for everyone – no-one should feel at risk when they're out and about.

“Members of the Youth Council spoke about it at full council and highlighted the issue, so it shows this issue is important to all ages.

“Oldham Council has CCTV cameras installed across the borough – including 51 new ones at locations around five Metrolink stops to help passengers and residents feel safer and more confident. 

"The new cameras provide improved images and wider coverage, not only of the platforms but also of the access points to and from them, including some of the harder to see areas.

“All of our cameras can act as a deterrent and, if an incident happens, the footage can be used to identify those responsible so action can be taken against them.

"Hopefully, our CCTV cameras, and other safety schemes we've introduced, will reassure residents we're listening and taking action.

“We have no facial recognition software on any of our current cameras.”