A former Watford resident is spearheading a campaign to ban full body scanners from airports across Britain.

Adam Woodward, who was “born and bred” in Vicarage Road but now lives and works as an English teacher in Spain, is part of a band of people concerned at the introduction of the scanners.

A Facebook group, which has become the focal point for their campaign, has attracted more than 10,000 members.

And their cause is backed by organisations such as Big Brother Watch, Privacy International and former The Corrs musician Jim Corr.

The Facebook group claims “these machines will perform a virtual strip search, which records detailed images of a person's genitalia, breasts and any cosmetic enhancements.

“We appear to be looking at a very expensive investment in largely ineffective technology that violates our right to privacy and poses a significant health risk”.

Adam said there were three main reasons why they opposed to the scanners – health reasons, privacy, and their effectiveness to target potential terrorists.

He said: “We want to raise awareness and get more people involved. We're encouraging people to sign petitions against the scanners and in the near future, we will try to organise protests.

“Quite by accident we have found ourselves as the campaign [against scanners] and people are starting to take us seriously. It's gathering strength.”

Earlier this month, the Equality and Human Rights Commission warned the use of the full body scanners may be unlawful.

The scanners were introduced in response to the alleged attempt to blow up a commercial airline over Detroit on Christmas Day last year.

The machines are already in place at Heathrow and Manchester Airports.

Passengers are randomly selected for the screenings, which produce “naked” images of passengers.

However, the Government said security concerns meant the scanners had to be brought in immediately, ahead of an equalities impact assessment.

View the Facebook campaign by searching for the All Facebook Against Airport Full Body Scanners group.