The local controversy surrounding Google Street View's images of Watford continued today as a woman under police protection criticised the service as a threat to her, and many other people's safety.

The woman, who asked not to be named, has been living in fear of a violent former partner tracking her down for more than 20 years. Now she fears information from Google's images could bring this violence back to her doorstep.

She said: “When someone is hell-bent on looking for you they don't even need number plates, all they need is a snippet of information. That snippet goes a long, long way and could put a lot of people in danger.”

She added: “If the person knows what car you drive they can look around and find it and find out where you are living. I understand this is in many ways a good thing but every good thing can be used in bad ways and this could be very dangerous for a lot of local women. I've got police protection but this could get past all of that.”

Previously, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Watford Sal Brinton criticised the software, saying it would turn the country into a “surveillance state”.

The issue of Google Street View, part of Google Maps, was taken to the country's privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner, but the case ended in favour of the software firm.