NEW research reveals that 1,295 council workers in the North-East and North Yorkshire have the power to enter private homes and businesses.

Privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch claims too many officials have been handed powers of entry.

Campaigners argue that despite a number of powers of entry being clearly sensible for the welfare of the public, there are a huge number that are a result of meaningless regulation.

Examples include the Plant Health Order (2005) which permits investigations into whether pot plants have plant pests and the Hypnotism Act (1952) which allows the inspection of a property to ensure illegal or unregulated hypnotism is not taking place.

With 183, Durham County Council has among the highest number of officials with power of entry in the country, although the authority says the figures are out of date.

Elsewhere in the region, Stockton has 84 staff members with the power, Darlington has 37, Middlesbrough 24 and Hartlepool 22.

In North Yorkshire, the county council has just two and Richmondshire does not have any, but Hambleton has 41.

Emma Carr, director of Big Brother Watch, said: “Few people would expect that public officials would have the power to enter your home or business, often without a warrant or police escort. The general public have been left high and dry, at the mercy of an army of penpushers who can enter our homes as they please.

“There have been a number of missed opportunities to rectify this, including the Protection of Freedoms Act and the Home Office’s review of the powers, yet both have failed to tackle the number of officials with these powers."

Colette Longbottom, head of legal and democratic services at Durham County Council, said the authority's enforcement officers worked in a wide range of areas.

She added: "Where their roles and responsibilities require them to enter homes and businesses they do so in line with the legislation relevant to their job.

"The figures quoted here are not current and date back to December 2012. Since this date the council has made further significant staff reductions as it works towards meeting Government savings targets.”