CALLS for CCTV cameras to be removed from a hostel because they made passersby feel “uncomfortable” have been rejected by East Lothian planners.

Owners of the Dolphin Inn, Dunbar, installed two cameras to protect guests’ bicycles and sports equipment during their stay.

However, when they were asked to apply retrospectively for planning permission for the cameras, complaints were lodged over the “intrusive” devices.

A report by planning officers revealed that three objections were made, with the main grounds being that “the cameras result in an uncomfortable and unpleasant feeling of being overlooked when walking on the public footpath”.

They were also claimed to overlook neighbouring properties, invade their privacy and “exacerbate the existing situation of those properties being overlooked by windows from the rear of the building”.

The Dolphin Inn, on the town’s Queens Road, had lain empty for years before the boutique hostel opened its doors in July.

Offering rooms with access to self-catering facilities and dormitory beds, it provides secure bike storage at the rear for its guests.

Planning officers said that Dunbar Community Council supported the CCTV cameras being put at the back of the hostel, saying they would improve the property’s security.

The officers’ report described the cameras as “eyeball” style and said that pictures taken from them had been provided by the hotel showing they did not intrude into neighbouring properties.

And they ruled that the white cameras were not “alien” to the building.

They said: “The two cameras are not intended to directly overlook any parts of the neighbouring residential properties.

“Furthermore, the images captured by the two wall-mounted CCTV cameras do not directly overlook any neighbouring garden.”

Planning permission was granted for the cameras.