Apple vehicles on UK and Irish streets to 'improve Apple Maps' service

Technology giant promises to blur faces and car licence plates if they are captured, as it continues work on Street View-style service

Apple is taking a leaf out of Google's book by putting a fleet of vehicles on the streets of the UK and Ireland to photograph streets for its Maps application.

The news follows speculation in February that Apple was working on a rival to Google's Street View service, after a car leased to Apple and covered in cameras and scanning equipment was spotted on the streets of San Francisco.