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Last night I was enjoying the lovely weather in my garden. My small children were playing in the paddling pool.
All perfectly idyllic until a large white noisy drone hovered over my garden for some time.
If you were operating that drone I am warning you I have reported you to the police for a gross invasion of my privacy, were you taking pictures of my children?
I hope parliament issues guidelines quickly to protect us all from these horrible machines.

If it's low enough then nothing that a baseball bat or a 2x4 can't cure

Surferdude wrote:I hope parliament issues guidelines quickly to protect us all from these horrible machines.

There are already guidelines regarding drones

https://www.caa.co.uk/Commercial-indust ... -Aircraft/

It would appear that the operator of the machine may well have breached these.

Surferdude wrote:I have reported you to the police for a gross invasion of my privacy,

As far as I'm aware, there are no privacy laws in the UK.

Joe wrote:If it's low enough then nothing that a baseball bat or a 2x4 can't cure

That would probably constitute criminal damage, not to mention destroying the evidence!

Two wrongs don't make a right

what about if you catch it with a net?

Finders keepers right, on your land (well above) etc etc...

You certainly wouldn't need to hurry to return it

Whereabouts in Hertford was it? I've had the odd one hover over our back garden and wondered what it was up to. Not to say I haven't been tempted to see if I couldn't reach it with a bit of 4x2...

Get a catapult

Steve wrote:

Joe wrote:If it's low enough then nothing that a baseball bat or a 2x4 can't cure

That would probably constitute criminal damage, not to mention destroying the evidence!

Two wrongs don't make a right

if it's in your airspace it could be trespass.

Was trolling the interweb this morning and found a few things out:

For example what is considered "your" airspace

S. 76 Civil Aviation Act 1982 states that ‘the lower stratum is unlikely to extend beyond an altitude of much more than 500 or 1,000 feet above roof level, this being roughly the minimum permissible distance for normal overflying by any aircraft’ (Rules of the Air Regulations 2007, Sch 1, s. 3(5)).

http://www.inbrief.co.uk/land-law/land-ownership/

Also there is a database of zones where drones are not allowed to be flown http://www.noflydrones.co.uk

Anyone interested can see he current CAA rules/guidance on model aircraft/drones https://www.caa.co.uk/Consumers/Model-a ... ng-drones/

and unmanned aircraft http://www.caa.co.uk/unmannedaircraft/

Personally if my kids where playing in a pool and a drone with a camera came over my property it wouldn't last long.

Steve wrote: As far as I'm aware, there are no privacy laws in the UK.

That's not correct - there is privacy law in the UK, and lots of recent case law on it. A particularly useful quote is from Mr Justice Eady in CTB v NGN and Thomas: "The modern law of privacy is not concerned solely with information or secrets: it is also concerned importantly with intrusion."

Most of the cases are quite widely reported in the media - they tend to be celebrities looking for an injunction. The most recent example is PJS v NGN a couple months ago:

http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2016/26.html

highwood38 wrote:

Steve wrote: As far as I'm aware, there are no privacy laws in the UK.

That's not correct - there is privacy law in the UK, and lots of recent case law on it. A particularly useful quote is from Mr Justice Eady in CTB v NGN and Thomas: "The modern law of privacy is not concerned solely with information or secrets: it is also concerned importantly with intrusion."

Most of the cases are quite widely reported in the media - they tend to be celebrities looking for an injunction. The most recent example is PJS v NGN a couple months ago:

http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2016/26.html

To clarify, I was referring to the fact that there is no Act Of Parliament or single law that deals with privacy, as opposed to Case Law. Complaining to the police about invasion of privacy is therefore unlikely to get much of a response as it would be a civil matter, not a criminal one.