BIG Brother was given the boot from Ottery last week after mystery CCTV cameras appeared in the town-centre as part of a Sainsbury s survey- the Herald can reveal.

BIG Brother was given the boot from Ottery last week after mystery CCTV cameras appeared in the town-centre as part of a Sainsbury's survey- the Herald can reveal.

The supermarket giant commissioned London company Nationwide Data Collection (NDC) to cast an eye over the town's traffic flow as part of its pending planning application, only for Devon County Council (DCC) to demand the cameras were removed as they had been erected without permission.

Police, town officials and bemused residents, shoppers and traders were left baffled last Friday after the lofty installations appeared overnight without explanation only to have disappeared by the following morning.

A DCC spokesman said NDC was asked to remove the camera equipment as it was "causing an obstruction on the highway and the company did not have the necessary licence to carry out a traffic survey".

A Sainsbury's spokesman confirmed the survey had been carried out on its behalf and said: "The flow of traffic around Ottery's town-centre was raised by a number of residents who attended our exhibition. In response we asked NDC to undertake a survey that will enable us to better consider the vehicle journeys in the local network as part of our proposals."

A spokesperson for NDC said: "We liaised with the DCC regarding our plans to undertake the survey, however we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to the public."

Sainsbury's Ottery supermarket rival Tesco said this week that its traffic survey had been done "some time ago", but a spokesman remained tight-lipped over when the firm's eagerly-anticipated planning application for part of the town's factory site will be submitted to East Devon District Council. Adding it was still "pretty much ready to go".