Brian Binley, MP for Northampton South, condemned Northampton Borough Council for using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).

His criticisms follow information given to the Chron showing the council has used RIPA surveillance powers 19 times since the act came into force.

Five of these were for dog fouling - and owners were issued with fixed penalty notices after they were caught.

Action was also taken by the council in four of the six benefit fraud cases where surveillance was used.

For four cases of fraud, two cases of noise nuisance and two cases of anti-social behaviour, the council did not take any other action after the surveillance was used.

The use of the powers for offences like dog fouling has fallen under fire from Mr Binley.

He said: "As I understand it, what is happening is that somebody is naming a dog owner whose dog is defecating on the pavement and the dog owner is not picking it up.

"So what the borough of Northampton do is go out with a secret camera.

"I just find this remarkable. If it was not so serious it would be totally laughable.

"But we really are turning local authorities into private detectives or the equivalent of KGB operatives.

"I just wonder whether the people in this country want this world or not - I suspect they do not.

"I am perfectly happy to give police powers in order to fight terrorism and very serious crime, but when it gets to this level you really have to question it."

He said local authorities seemed to have lost track of the rights of individuals and the right response for the level of offence.

He added: "The whole thing is getting totally out of perspective and it frightens me to death.

"I am applying pressure to Northamptonshire County Council and Northampton Borough Council to put this business of surveillance into perspective and to get them to stop acting like Dick Tracy.

"Unless we restore some semblance of sanity then there won't be a square inch that we as individuals can walk on that is not noted or monitored by the powers that be."

But a spokesman for Northampton Borough Council said the powers were only used when appropriate.

The spokesman said: "The council has used its powers under this Act carefully and sparingly.

"We apply the regulations very strictly to catch flytippers, for example, but we do this only where there is intelligence to suggest this will be worthwhile, never just as a trawl in the hope of catching someone.

"Authorisation to use these powers has to be agreed by an appropriately trained officer of the council and then approved by a senior legal officer.

"We have not used covert surveillance at any time in the past year."