Google Street View is an incredible tool.

It's brilliant for finding places and planning your routes; you can look for that shop or important turning you'd most likely sail past otherwise.

And you can take virtual tours of places you'd loved to but can't afford to visit - or would be too afraid to see in the flesh. I've enjoyed many a Google Street View virtual wander around the favelas of Rio De Janeiro and Los Angeles' Skid Row.

But many people - quite rightly - take issue with Street View posting detailed photos of their homes for the entire online world to see.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair - you can't see his main London home on Street View

Some feel they serve as an advert to burglars while others feel they're an invasion of your privacy.

But there's good news - you can ask Google to blur photos of your home taken by the Google Street View car.

And you'll be in the same club as Tony Blair, Paul McCartney and Lily Allen whose homes can no longer be viewed on the service.

Here's how to do it:

- Find your home on Google Maps and drag Pegman (from the bottom-right corner) onto the street in front of your home.

Moving Pegman on Google Maps

- Hey presto - an image of your home and your neighbours' homes will appear.

- Cast your eye to far bottom-right of the image and click on 'report a problem'.

- You can then drag a red box over what you want removing from the image.

Removing your house from Google Street View. Yes, that's the Victoria Tower.

    - Click what it is you want blurred. You can also ask for faces, car registration plates and other sensitive objects to be blurred. Google blurs this sort of stuff as a matter of course, but a few slip through the net.

    - Add your email address and fill out the anti-bot verification box and click submit.

    - Check Street View at a later date to see if it has been blurred.