COUNTY council chiefs carried out more than 100 secret snooping operations over the past two years – more than one a week.

Hampshire’s 137 covert surveillance actions since 2008 were revealed by pressure group Big Brother Watch, which is calling for the powers, designed to tackle terrorism, to be removed from councils.

It is the eighth highest use of the controversial spy powers by a council.

County bosses say nearly all were carried out by trading standards officers to catch rogue traders and illegally sales of alcohol and tobacco to children.

Southampton City Council used its spying powers 59 times over the past two years to catch people suspected of illegally selling alcohol to the under- 18s, misusing disabled parking permits, fly-tipping and criminal damage.

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Fareham Borough Council conducted 76 secret surveillance operations since 2008, spying on people suspected of benefit fraud, breaching planning rules and tipping trade waste. By contrast, Gosport Borough Council did not use its powers once over the same period.

New Forest District Council carried out 22 investigations, checking up on people suspected of fiddling benefits.

Winchester City Council used its spying powers seven times in cases of suspected benefit fraudsters and anti social behaviour while Test Valley Borough Council carried out four investigations.

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) allows public authorities to film people with secret cameras, follow them, intercept their phone calls and emails and pay informants, for example neighbours.

Ministers intend to introduce legislation to ensure that Ripa powers are used only in cases involving serious crime and only if a magistrate’s warrant is obtained first.

But Hampshire County Council leader Ken Thornber said this could make clamping down on rogue traders difficult. He said: “My heart tells me that covert surveillance in the UK could be considered an infringement on the rights of a free society, but my head tells me that if there were restrictions, we would be severely hampered in tracing the sale of counterfeit goods which rob genuine manufacturers of their profits.”

Mr Thornber defended the large number of Ripa investigations carried out by Hampshire saying it was “no surprise” it was among the top ten as it is the third largest county council in the country.

Big Brother Watch spokesman Dylan Sharpe said: “We are very concerned about people’s privacy and the idea that unelected and unaccountable council officers are able to spy on unsuspecting members of the public.”