Google has deleted a street view image of Manchester – after internet users spotted it had captured a back alley sex scene.

The image of Temperance Street was replaced with a blank screen on the popular online mapping service on Friday.

Google took action after users on Twitter began sharing the picture and pointing out that the image showed a man and woman engaged in a sex act at the side of the road.

Street View automatically blurs out faces of people in images and the faces of the couple in the picture could not be seen.

However, despite the blurring, it was all too clear what the pair were up to on the pavement in full view of the passing Google car.

One Twitter user posted the picture with the caption: “Al fresco. Mancunian style” and another added: “Classy Manchester”.

On Friday morning the image was first further blurred out by Google but was later deleted completely with the message: “This image is no longer available.”





Temperance Street is just off Fairfield Street in Piccadilly, an area known to be frequented by street prostitutes.

It is thought the offending image may have been on Google's Street View service since it was launched in April 2010 but has only just now been spotted by users.

It is not the first time Google Street View has caught out the public as camera cars have travelled city streets around the globe taking photos.

One picture in Germany showed a naked man in the back of his car.

And last month the Google Street View cameras captured an amorous couple apparently having sex in the changing cubicle of a clothes store in France.

The firm said it took immediate action after the image was brought to its attention.

A Google spokeswoman said: "We take issues around inappropriate images in Street View very seriously, and we blurred the image in question after it was reported to us. For us, privacy is paramount.

"We've put in place simple tools so that if people see what they believe to be inappropriate, they can flag the image to us and it will be quickly removed.

"We apologise for any inadvertent embarrassment this may have caused."