WHO will Poole council be spying on next? And who might the James Bonds on your council be stalking?

What an utter liberty. Or an abuse of it?

An innocent family wanted their three-year-old daughter to attend Lilliput First School and were in the correct catchment area. But they were moving to Westbourne and wished to hang on long enough to ensure their child was offered a place. She was.

Poole council, however, was suspicious of something. After the deadline for allocating the places had passed, the council started spying on them.

This highlights some key issues.

There's the matter of catchment areas and loopholes. Parents not offered a place at Lilliput may wonder how a family now living in Westbourne still qualifies for a place.

The bigger issue is what was Poole council doing using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - intended to protect against criminality or terrorism - to check on whether a family lived in a catchment area or not? Talk about sledgehammer and nuts.

What other covert activities are councils using this Act for? What other big brother' behaviour is slyly creeping in? What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

Or can you justify such creepy surveill- ance as a duty to the wider community?

I have no problem with the police using spy tactics to prevent, for example, terrorism. But even if a council thought that someone was fraudulently trying to get a child into the school of their choice, how can it justify such underhand tactics?

Firstly, it may be legal... but ethical?

Secondly, what a waste of public money.

Thirdly, how ridiculous to spy on them. Why didn't they just knock on the door a few times to see if they were living there?

Fourthly, if the deadline for granting or rejecting places at the school had already passed what on earth was the point?