A Chorleywood resident has reported to us that a drone was hovering and filming her yesterday (Thurs 21 July) whilst she was sunbathing in the privacy of her own back garden. The small aircraft system was being remotely piloted from the Common and flown over the back gardens of cottages along Common Road. The controls were being operated by a man. His actions were not only intrusive but illegal. The UK Civil Aviation Authority’s guidelines for flying of drones in this country categorically state that drone operators must be able to see the drone at all times and that it must not be flown within 50 metres of people, vehicles and buildings. Operators who fail to observe these rules can be prosecuted for their actions.
The resident told us
” I looked up at this thing looking back at me and felt abused. I was incensed and my first instinct was to run inside and dress quickly. I grabbed binoculars and could see a man holding the control standing on the Common so ran over and confronted him. I was extremely angry and told him to delete the images. He claimed that he wasn’t taking pictures and when I said that I could see them he replied ‘Well I’ll delete yours then, come here.’ I didn’t want to go close to him. He also said that he owned most of the houses along the road which is clearly not true – I own and have lived in my house for 30 years and know my neighbours are in the same position. When I asked him for his identity he told me he was born with no name. I have reported the incident to the police who are taking it very seriously – I later tracked down his vehicle in the Memorial Hall Car Park so I have a note of his car reg too, I found it easily as the drone was on the back seat.
It strikes me that this is a serious security issue and I would urge anybody experiencing a similar incident to inform the police immediately and ideally get a photo of the drone.”
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