A group of tenants were shocked to discover a camera hidden in a bathroom smoke alarm at their rented home.
The household of girls had already lived at the property, in Heaton, Newcastle for over a year when they found the secret device in the downstairs shower room.
One of the girls said that the discovery was made by someone cleaning the toilet who noticed a reflective film, only to find it was a ‘homemade’ camera.
She said: ‘One of the girls was cleaning the toilet and she looked up and saw a reflective film. She thought it looked a bit strange and that it shouldn’t be on the smoke alarm so she asked me to go and have a look.
‘When we took it off we saw that it was a camera. It looked homemade and looked really strange.’
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
She added: ‘We didn’t know that you don’t need a smoke alarm in a bathroom. It had been perfectly cut into position to superglue the camera in there.’
Photos of the device show what appears to be a small camera lens attached to a memory module with USB and SD memory card ports attached, although no memory card was inserted when it was found.
Officers from Northumbria police seized the camera amid an ongoing investigation.
A representative from Red Ridge Residential, which manages the property, visited the house with a device to scan for hidden cameras.
One resident has now moved out of the home during her tenancy.
She said: ‘It was horrible. One of the girls took it really badly. It’s been really stressful and made us feel vulnerable.’
The resident said she is unsure who could have placed the device in the bathroom and was told by officers that it could have been there for at least three years.
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: ‘At around 10.45pm on Thursday, February 27, we received a report that a potential recording device had been found inside a fire alarm in an address in Heaton. Officers attended to speak with the occupants and seize the device in question for further assessment.
‘While enquiries remain ongoing, it is not believed to have the capability to record or transmit images or footage. Enquiries remain ongoing to establish if any criminal offences have been committed.’
Red Ridge Residential said it had taken a sweep of the property for devices and liaised with the tenants.
It said:: ‘Red Ridge take the safety and security of our tenants incredibly seriously. We continue to assist the police in their investigation and look forward to their findings.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.