A website which gives details of homes and their owners has been criticised by police.

The 192.com website includes photographs, maps, addresses and the cost of a property – giving thieves, fraudsters and even terrorists the chance to target individuals and the elderly, reports the Mirror.

Earlier this year the service launched a section called Property Report, which allows people to go ‘through the keyhole’ and see interior photographs of the property from the last time it was marketed on Zoopla.

The photographs are available for properties which have been marketed within the past ten years.

The report also includes information such as price paid for the property, current mortgage provider, neighbouring house prices and local crime levels.

At its launch, 192.com proclaimed Property Report “the most comprehensive property information tool available to the general public”.

But the Mirror article says critics fear the Property Report, which costs £14.99 to use, “will make secluded and isolated homes especially vulnerable”.

North Wales Police sent an internal memo warning officers about the site, and Jim Maddan, chairman of Britain’s Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network, said: “I can’t think of any other site which gives out so much personal information all in one go.

“It concerns me this could make it easier for thieves, cold callers and fraudsters to target individuals and the elderly.”

However, Dominic Blackburn, product director of 192.com, said: “I was surprised by the story in the Mirror as 192.com has been around since 1997 supplying data that is available in the public domain.

“We take privacy very seriously and only publish data that is freely available such as the open electoral roll and directory enquiries phone numbers. The data given to us already excludes those people who have opted out, and we enable people to remove themselves from our site by contacting us.

“The Property Report is a new product that compiles data from many different sources that are all publicly available. It is designed to be a one-stop report on any home in England and Wales for use by home buyers or house hunters to quickly get all the relevant information and costs £14.99 + VAT.”

The Mirror story can be read here