When it comes to leaving your infant with a professional nanny, some mothers could be forgiven for being a little nervous.

But a recent rise in online sales of hidden cameras in toys and clocks, known as ‘nanny cams’, suggests more and more parents are intent on keeping a close eye on the hired help at home – much to the disappointment of one Kent agency.

Professional nanny and au pair agency County Nannies Ltd, based in Lynsted near Faversham, supplies trained nannies across the county, and managing director Benedicte Speed is not a fan of nanny cams in the home.

She said: “I have two daughters aged nine and 10 and I use nannies but I would never, ever think of using a camera.

“I think the use of nanny cams is flawed – it implies that 100 per cent trust is not there in the first place.”

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Several high profile cases in the US of nannies caught mistreating children on hidden cameras saw demand for the technology rocket across the country, and the growing number of UK nurseries offering a webcam service to allow working parents virtual contact with their children has made the idea of nanny cams in the home even more appealing.

Ms Speed said there was little to no demand for nanny cams from her agency’s clients – only one client in its 10 year history had openly used one – but was concerned that technology was starting to play too big a role in some parents’ decision making when it came to child care.

She added: "A lot of people can get their child care online, without meeting the people first. But I, both commercially and personally, can’t understand what someone is doing recruiting someone online, site unseen.

"I can have a wonderful CV and references from a nanny, but I could meet them and find something just does not add up - that gut feeling is so important when you are considering hiring someone to care for your children.

"If you have a professional nanny – and one on one care is the most expensive option – you should be doing that with the sort of positivity and trust you want the relationship to be based on in the future."