( CNN ) -- Google 's ambitious plan to offer a 3-D street level view of communities across three continents hit a snag when angry residents of a UK village blocked the search engine 's camera car from photographing their homes . Broughton , can be seen from the air on Google Earth , but not from the ground . Fearing the appearance of their well appointed properties on the Web site would attract criminals scouting for burglary targets , villagers in Broughton , north of London , summoned the police after spotting the car . `` I was upstairs when I spotted the camera car driving down the lane , '' resident Paul Jacobs told The Times of London . `` My immediate reaction was anger : How dare anyone take a photograph of my home without my consent ? I ran outside to flag the car down and told the driver he was not only invading our privacy but also facilitating crime . `` This is an affluent area . We 've already had three burglaries locally in the past six weeks . If our houses are plastered all over Google it 's an invitation for more criminals to strike . I was determined to make a stand , so I called the police . '' Google 's Street View project to map 360-degree images of roads and homes across the world has generated numerous complaints over privacy , despite automated software that blurs faces and car licence plates . A Google spokesman , quoted by the UK Press Association , said : `` Embarking on new projects , we sometimes encounter unexpected challenges , and Street View has been no exception . `` We know that some people are uncomfortable with images of their houses or cars being included in the product , which is why we provide an easy way to request removal of imagery . Most imagery requests are processed within hours . '' The spokesman added : `` We take privacy very seriously , and we were careful to ensure that all images in our Street View service abide by UK law . ''
Villagers in Broughton summoned police after Google car arrived . The incident happened on the A591 near to a farm where Mr and Mrs Smith live with their two children. Google says it is n't breaking any laws .