Man finds hidden camera in Starbucks toilet

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

A customer at Starbucks was shocked to discover a camera hidden in the ceiling of his local Starbucks’ bathroom.

The incident happened at the Vauxhall branch of Starbucks in south London, which is thought to have the highest LGBT population of any neighbourhood in the UK.

Ricci Arcari, 33, discovered the tiny device when he looked up while using the toilet in the branch.

“I’d gone in and I had my drink. In that Starbucks there’s only one toilet, it’s a big one for everyone.

“I went in, used the toilet and as I was standing I was looking around. I looked up and thought that’s definitely a camera.

“I panicked a little bit, stopped doing what I was doing, closed the toilet lid and jumped up to have a look.

“I wanted to make sure it was what it was so I poked and prodded it a few times with my pinky and ran out and got the manager.”

Mr Arcari, who works as a media manager, was horrified that somebody could have been watching him and thousands of other customers while in the bathroom.

It’s not known how the device got into the toilet vent, but locals fear it could be to perv on their toilet habits.

The UK’s intelligence agency, MI6, is also located across the street, prompting other theories of spying.

Mr Arcari said: “It’s quite shocking.

“You always think of creepy people doing something like this but you don’t think that it would actually happen.

“That cubicle is used by everyone. A mother or father will be like, that’s fine for their children, it’s a cubicle which is secure.”

A spokesperson for Starbucks said: “This is a distressing discovery for our partners and customers, and we take our responsibility to provide a safe environment very seriously.

“As soon as the store was made aware of this, we removed the device and contacted the police who are investigating the incident.”