A CCTV operator breached data protection protocols to watch a colleague’s wedding via work cameras, it has been revealed.

The breach - which resulted in “management instruction” - was one of two at the local authority between April 2011 and April 2014.

Nationally, there were more than 4,000 breaches by council workers - a rate of almost four every day.

The figures were obtained using the Freedom of Information Act for a study by privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch.

The other incident of a data breach at Cheshire East was when a worker accessed personal information for which she or her was given a ‘written warning’.

Other shocking findings at other councils included a social worker at Lewisham council who left children’s confidential files with information linked to sex offenders on a train.

Big Brother Watch is calling for prison sentences for the most serious breaches after finding just one of the litany of 4,236 ended in disciplinary action.

Sensitive or confidential information was compromised in 260 of the cases, while breaches involved personal data linked to children on 658 occasions.

Director Emma Carr said: “For so many children and young people to have had their personal information compromised is deeply disturbing.

“With only a tiny fraction of staff being disciplined or dismissed, this raises the question of how seriously local councils take protecting the privacy of the public.”

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: “Councils take data protection extremely seriously and staff are given ongoing training in handling confidential data. Given the huge volume of data councils handle, breaches are proportionately rare.

“When they do occur, robust investigations and reviews are immediately undertaken to ensure processes are tightened.”

A spokesman from Cheshire East Council said: “The report from Big Brother Watch refers to an incident in which an employee of Cheshire East Council, whilst on duty, used a CCTV camera to observe a work colleague’s wedding.

“The incident took place in June 2011 and the employee was reprimanded for a breach of data protection protocols and the ICO concluded that no further action by the Council was required.”