Ananova:

A council used powers meant for terrorists to find out if a family were lying about living in a school catchment area.

Poole Council put the family under surveillance for two weeks, tracking them as they went about their daily lives.

Surveillance notes included "female and three children enter target vehicle and drive off" and "curtains open and all lights on in premises".

The investigation began after the couple applied to send their three-year-old daughter to a local school, reports The Sun.

The family put their home up for sale, but remained there until the January cut-off point to ensure their daughter qualified. The child was accepted.

The woman, 39, of Poole, Dorset, said: "I'm absolutely incensed. To be following us around for nearly three weeks, apart from being very creepy, is a huge infringement of my liberty.

"It was very creepy when we found out people had been watching us and making notes. My daughter is still having trouble sleeping. She's asking if there is a man outside watching us."

Human rights pressure group Liberty called the spying "disproportionate" and "intrusive".

But Poole Borough Council spokesman Tim Martin insisted: "We considered it appropriate to treat it as a potential criminal matter."