SPY cameras could become a reality in Bolton’s care homes after the government’s health watchdog published new advice on the controversial subject.

The guidance, from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), follows a number of high profile cases in the area in which staff members were caught abusing care home residents.

In 2012 Ann Leach and Joanne Robinson were found guilty of ill-treating two severely disabled residents at a Bolton Council-run care home between 2008 and 2010 after being exposed by colleagues.

Last May, care workers Rita Page and Lynette Crook were each jailed for seven months after they were filmed verbally abusing and slapping 23-year-old Danny Moran at the Priory Highbank Centre in Bury.

They were caught mistreating Mr Moran, who was left brain damaged after a car crash when he was 17, after his family installed a secret camera in his room.

Now HC-One — another care home company not involved in either of those scandals — could become the first care home provider in the country to install surveillance cameras in the rooms of vulnerable patients.

The firm runs 27 care homes across Greater Manchester, including Four Seasons in Breightmet, Meadowbank House in Great Lever and Rose Court in Radcliffe.

Last year HC-One asked more than 12,000 residents, relatives and staff whether it should implement an opt-in, visible camera scheme.

More than half (53 per cent) of residents nationwide opposed their use, but cameras were supported by 87 per cent of relatives and 63 per cent of staff.

The CQC’s chief inspector of adult social care, Andrea Sutcliffe, said: “For some, cameras or other forms of surveillance, whether openly used by services or hidden by families, are the answer.

"Others feel this is an invasion of people’s privacy and dignity.

“Our information explains what people can do if they are worried about someone’s care and what they need to think about.”

The CQC first published advice on the use of cameras for care homes in December.

Care staff union GMB said it recognised a “degree of inevitability” but urged the public to question how they would be used before installing them.

Justin Bowden, GMB national officer for the care sector, said: “Cameras are not the answer to the crisis in the care sector — more money is.”

Shamed Bolton care workers Leach and Robinson were both jailed for their abuse.

Leach, of Piggot Street, Farnworth, was sentenced to 21 months, while Robinson, of Bolton Road, Kearsley, was given a 15-month sentence.

The pair trapped a vulnerable woman in her bedroom at the home in Worsley Road, Farnworth, and strapped her into another resident’s chair.

Leach also pinned her against a wall and threw a jug of water over her.

Robinson, of Bolton Road, Kearsley, was also found guilty of pushing the women and using offensive language towards them.