It’s estimated that there are now 5.2 million CCTV systems operating in the UK.
In fact, the average London resident is captured on CCTV up to 300 times per day, while the London Underground alone is monitored by over 11,000 CCTV systems, making it almost certain that commuters will be captured on camera several times during their journey to work.
The situation is similar in many countries across the world, meaning it’s not surprising that over the years CCTV has recorded some rather weird things - here are 5 of the strangest.
1. Bear Pulls Wheely Bin Up The Driveway
Have you ever sat in your home after an early morning rubbish collection and wished that someone else could bring your bins back inside for you? Well, some Florida residents were lucky enough to have just that happen.
This bear was captured on camera wheeling a bin up the driveway of a Florida homeowner, before carefully knocking it over and helping himself to the contents.
Smarter than the average bear!
2. Triplets Pass On The Stairs? Or Glitch In The Matrix?
This surreal video shows a young man walking up the stairs in what looks to be a parking lot or an apartment complex. Soon after, he comes back down and crosses the stairway with an identical copy of himself. He then passes yet another copy of himself on the stairway as he makes his way down.
A perfectly normal video of a man passing his 2 identical siblings on the stairs? A doctored video? Or a surreal glitch in the Matrix?
You decide.
3. Send In The Clowns
Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns, and many would say it's an irrational phobia.
However, how would you feel if clowns started turning up at your front door in the dead of night? Would you be nervous then?
Residents of one Florida neighbourhood got the chance to find out when a number of sinister-looking clowns began appearing in the early hours of the morning and paying visits to their homes.
Who's laughing now?
4. The Disappearance Of Lars Mittank
This video shows the strange disappearance of Lars Mittank, then 28, captured on CCTV in Varna Airport, Bulgaria. Mittank was stranded in Bulgaria on a ‘lad’s holiday’ after he got into a fight with a group of rival football fans, resulting in a ruptured eardrum.
He later texted his mother that he didn’t feel safe, and was making his way into the airport to escape whoever - or whatever - was threatening him, when he suddenly ran out of the
airport and into a neighbouring field. There was no sign of the perpetrator on the footage, and Mittank was never seen again.
Whether he had fallen victim to gang activity, a personal vendetta, or had simply gone AWOL as a result of mental illness, the disappearance of Lars Mittank has been a mystery for over eight years, and has inspired the curiosity of many 'true crime' fans.
But what really happened to Lars Mittank? Perhaps we'll never know.
5. Home Intruder
Would you really know if somebody had broken into your home?
That’s the question one man was forced to ask himself when he reviewed his security footage after his phone went missing. The footage showed a man with a beanie hat breaking into his home and walking around freely.
Most disturbingly, the trespasser enters the room that the inhabitant was sleeping in, crawling right up to the bed with a knife in his mouth and stealing his phone.
Who knows what might have happened if he woke up? If you’re looking for some real-life scary stories, this video will keep you up all night watching the door.
BONUS: A UFO?
Did a California resident capture a low-flying and fast-moving UFO on their home CCTV system? Whatever the object was, it was heading somewhere in a hurry.
With this video offering a high-quality resolution that’s easy to make out, it has sparked much debate over recent years. But what exactly does it show?
The truth is out there…