ROSS CLARK: I used to loathe CCTV cameras, but now I know they are vital - as Wayne Couzens might never have been caught without it

 As someone who once wrote a book condemning the surveillance society, I have to admit the story of Wayne Couzens makes salutary reading. 

Without CCTV, this sadistic killer might never have been caught – or nowhere near as quickly – for the vile kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard earlier this year.

Officers managed to track this monster's movements thanks to hours of 'dashcam' footage from cars and buses, footage from shops and cafes and even new doorbell cameras attached to people's homes.

Combined with other technology such as number plate recognition software and mobile phone 'triangulation', it made for an unequivocal case.

Without it, Couzens might not have pleaded guilty and instead inflicted on Sarah's family the additional torment of a lengthy trial.

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Without CCTV, Wayne Couzens might never have been caught for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. Pictured: Couzens staged his fake arrest to lure Sarah Everard into his carSentencing Couzens, 48, to spend the rest of his life in prison yesterday, Lord Justice Fulford said: 'The compelling CCTV compilation, the product of 1,800 hours of footage, along with the cell site [mobile phone] evidence, revealed with absolute clarity the core essentials of what had occurred.'

And Sarah's case is not the only one where such footage may prove vital. According to reports, CCTV footage shows last month's deadly attack on Sabina Nessa, 28, as well as her movements through the south-east London park where her body was found.

In light of the many such crimes solved thanks to CCTV, fewer people nowadays complain that surveillance cameras are a menace that threaten our freedom. That battle has long been lost.