Google puts British Army's secret special forces base on Street View

The compound is even marked as 'British SAS' on the website. Street View allows users to look around at the entrance to the base in Credenhill, Herefordshire, and offers a detailed 180-degree view of the perimeter boundary.

The images, taken the last six months, show a military ambulance and a police car at the gates of the SAS headquarters as well as three guards.

The layout of the buildings and even the makes and models of the vehicles can be recognized by satellite pictures on Google Earth.

British MPs and top military leaders have demanded that Google removes the pictures. They fear it would make the SAS a target for terrorist attacks.

An army source told Daily Mail: "Military chiefs have had concerns with Google Street View for some time.

"It is highly irresponsible for military bases, especially special forces, to be pictured on the internet.  

"Google claims it blurs faces and number plates to avoid people being identified but one mistake could be very dangerous weapon for a terrorist.  

"The question is, why risk a very serious security breach for the sake of having a picture on a website?"  

A man, who declined to be identified, but has links with the base, said: "The SAS conducts operations where secrecy is absolutely vital to their success.

"It beggars belief that the base has been made vulnerable by having such detailed pictures published on the internet.

"Terrorists could potentially use their home computers to plot an attack capable of dire consequences on the base. That's frightening."  

Google on Thursday said they had no plans to remove the images from the website.

"Google only takes images from public roads and this is no different to what anyone could see travelling down the road themselves, therefore there is no appreciable security risk," Google spokeswoman Laura Scott said.