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Google Street View available in East Lancashire

10:00am Wednesday 10th March 2010 in


EVERY road in East Lancashire will be available on Google Street View from midnight tonight.

Shops, beauty spots and landmarks throughout the region have been captured by Google’s cars during a two-year period.

The internet mapping system allows people to explore and navigate a neighbourhood through panoramic street-level photographs.

The only places not captured are pedestrian routes which the cars could not go down, and some country tracks.

Laura Scott from Google said: “We’ve tried to cover as many public roads in the county as we can.

“But in rural areas where uneven roads made the car’s journey bumpy, it sometimes distorts the images and makes them unusable.”

The still images picked up by roof-mounted cameras have been pieced together by Google techinicians, with any faces or vehicle number plates automatically blurred out to protect privacy.

The cars, driven by local people who know the roads well, spent several weeks in each town, but no pictures could be taken during the heavy snow or rainfall, and some cars can still be seen getting more images now weather is getting better.

The updated version of Steet View now comprehensively covers the entire UK with 238,000 miles of imagery – up from only 25 cities put online last March.

Laura said: “It’s been a massive challenge but it now brings Britain bang up to date with other countries like the USA, France and Scandinavia.

"It’s great news for local businesses, drivers, and people wanting to know more about an area before they visit.”

New findings from YouGov reveal that almost two thirds of people who have used Street View have done so to find out where they’re going and get directions.

Anyone who objects to their house, car or image being pictured can object and the image in question will be removed within 48 hours.

Alex Deane, director of pressure group Big Brother Watch, said: “For many, Google’s StreetView cameras are an upsetting invasion of privacy.

“People are not asked whether they are comfortable with it coming to their town.”

Comments(13)

Black Clio Guy. says...
10:26am Wed 10 Mar 10

I remember the Astra passing me in Great Harwood with the camera on the roof and google on the side. I will look out for it.

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CapitaBackHander says...
10:34am Wed 10 Mar 10

I also remember the Astra, it was infront of me while going through Darwen. Quite obvious people did not like it looking at them and it had been in the news that week. V's were flicked numerous times. Will be worth looking at tatoo shop Belgrave, TV Licensing guys giving various gestures at India Mill and so on.

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Black Clio Guy. says...
11:10am Wed 10 Mar 10

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time.team says...
11:31am Wed 10 Mar 10

How about getting some permanent ones fitted around bank top, Blackburn. Now that would be interesting!

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vintageclaret says...
12:14pm Wed 10 Mar 10

Fantastic news this. Now we will be able to see the results of the brilliant decisions taken by Burnley Council in a) Buying (overpaying) for houses b) Buying very distinctive buildings at over-inflated prices to demolish and turn into "works of art" c) Creating Piazzas (wow thought for a minute I was in Venice! Wish our councillors were permanently in the water) d) All those lovely boarded up, derelict houses made as a result of their decisions & finally e) The rubble strewn, filthy streets they seem to think fine because of their to have fortnightly refuse collections (They actually wonder why/can't believe the increased fly tipping is as a result of this. JUST one more - if I ahve forgotten any other reasons why I think it's fantastic, please feel free to add

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Burnley student says...
12:51pm Wed 10 Mar 10

Looking forward to it, street view really handy for directions and finding places!

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Mogster says...
2:17pm Wed 10 Mar 10

I'm gonna travel round Blackburn Centre in BOTH directions... the way it used to be :-)

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Michael@ClitheroeSince58 says...
6:57pm Wed 10 Mar 10

That's an Idea I can practise driving around Blackburn as the real experience is just to much for me to cope with.

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disgusted tunbridge wells says...
10:38pm Wed 10 Mar 10

Try not to mix up Accrington Road, Burnley and The Mall

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Joey99 says...
10:59pm Wed 10 Mar 10

I thinj this is a good thing. welcome to the 21st Century Luddites!

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CapitaBackHander says...
12:23am Thu 11 Mar 10

Pictures from different day that I saw. I see google are useless re approach to Circus, terrible traffic system but still amazes me how Tom Tom and places like Google can have it so wrong - no entry at the start of Plumbworld????
India Mill driver- smile you are caught on camera using phone....

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tenerc says...
8:59am Thu 11 Mar 10

nice to see that the picture used of darwen there is a car parked on the pavement and one in the bus stop, sums up blackburn and darwen just right

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Davidoff says...
3:43pm Thu 11 Mar 10

Wait ... was that a crack house I just saw on one Darwen street? Looked like one, sure I saw a few stalks of something supisciously looking like some kind of wierd looking plant sticking out of the boarded up windows. So it comes to this now ... will Google also be supplying dot to dot maps as well as these pictures? Cos you gotta wonder, if people can't find something using a map. Where it all went wrong. As to Tom Tom and Satnav. Yep delivery drivers delivering to the wrong address because it 'said on the satnav'. Okayyyy. Do they not teach them how to read street signs anymore?

Oh, no hang on - this is will certainly aid all those swiss cheesed brained muggers, burglars. To find the streets. Let's face it, they need pictures to find their own faces.

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