  Analyses of B and R band observations of four compact groups reveal the
presence of a considerable amount of diffuse, intergalactic light in two of
them (HCG 79 and HCG 95). The diffuse component is presumably due to stellar
material that has been tidally stripped from the galaxy group members. A new
approach is used to measure this diffuse background light, using wavelet
techniques for detecting low surface brightness signals. The diffuse light
component has a mean colour of $(B-R)$ = 1.4 - 1.5$\pm$0.1 and it comprises the
following fractions of the total group light in the B band: 18%, 12%, 3% and 0%
for groups HCG 95, HCG 79, HCG 92 and HCG 88, respectively. The diffuse light
content of a group may represent an efficient tool for the determination of how
long groups have been together in a compact configuration.
