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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Abu to be incredibly angry about a drone flying over my garden??

181 replies

Splandy · 14/07/2016 21:25

I have seen a drone flying over mine and my neighbours gardens for the past six months or so. Found it mildly annoying but it was a fair distance from my windows so didn't think about it too much. I could hear it tonight when i was in my garden. Looked around for it and it 'saw' me, so clearly has a camera attached. It stopped whizzing around and hovered above me, below the roof of my house, watching me. I am so fucking angry right now. Both rooms facing onto the garden have patio doors, so this person could potentially be watching me in my own home.

I called the police and they gave me an appointment for Monday. Yeah have since called back telling me that there isn't an offence being committed, so the appointment will be cancelled and the neighbourhood team may contact me instead. But may not. I told him that I'd easily found information online stating that a drone cannot be flown within 50 metres of a person, which it definitely was, but it made no difference. What if it had crashed into my house, which it was incredibly close to? What if it crashed into me?? I also believe I have a right to privacy on my own property. Made no difference, appointment cancelled. Am I supposed to just accept being fucking spied on in my own home and garden? I don't even open the blinds in my kitchen because i value my privacy and can easily be seen there, but have to accept that somebody can film me and my kids???

OP posts:
ErrolTheDragon · 14/07/2016 23:13

Urgh - we had a drone hovering over our cul-de- sac this evening, there was a kid on a bike but I'm not sure if it was his. That was disconcerting enough (and noisy) - I hope you find a way to get rid of it OP.

Reckon they're going to need licensing for valid use only before long - there's all sorts of potential problems brewing.

Deux · 14/07/2016 23:13

If you are or know somone techie or know a teenager with a Raspberry Pi, you can disable a drone if it's using wifi.

Here's how.

makezine.com/projects/build-wi-fi-drone-disabler-with-raspberry-pi/

ErrolTheDragon · 14/07/2016 23:16

Unfortunately jamming is illegal (it says so in that link).

ErrolTheDragon · 14/07/2016 23:19

Those awnings with 'read the CAA rules you Bert' written in large letters might get the message across...

ErrolTheDragon · 14/07/2016 23:19

Berk not Bert daycare

Just5minswithDacre · 14/07/2016 23:19

Those awnings with 'read the CAA rules you Bert' written in large letters might get the message across...

Grin
ErrolTheDragon · 14/07/2016 23:20

Oh FGS Double damn you autocorrect!

GarlicStake · 14/07/2016 23:22

Heh, Deux Grin You posted while I was watching this. So cool, and all you need is a cordless phone!

(nb - I haven't tried it. But I'm going to! I've a few old phones knocking around)

GarlicStake · 14/07/2016 23:24

"United Kingdom: Illegal to use, but legal to own."

Fair enough. I'm only going to do a proof of concept ...

JackieAndHyde4eva · 14/07/2016 23:36

Useful thread! Grin

maninawomansworld01 · 15/07/2016 00:18

It is illegal to fly them close to buildings and people.
In addition, the operator must be no more than 400 meters away from the drone at all times.

If you do try to capture it then unfortunately you must do so without damaging it or you may be done for criminal damage (assuming they can figure out who did it and find the bits of the drone drone.
as satisfying as it would be to take your shotgun and blow one out of the sky, it would probably come back to bite you on the bum so I'd urge restraint.

WeAreTheOthers · 15/07/2016 01:35

A weighted net, couple of cans of paraffin and a match.

giraffesCantReachTheirToes · 15/07/2016 03:44

Local fb group? Post about how seriously police are taking it

Theoretician · 15/07/2016 09:04

Don't these have a flying time of something like ten minutes? So unlikely to be a problem for long, and you can see where they go when they return home.

Just5minswithDacre · 15/07/2016 09:18

Would turning a hose or a pressure washer on it be likely to cause or constitute criminal damage?

confuugled1 · 15/07/2016 09:48

Local council? Local mp?
Local drone flyers group - if the person is a member it might shame them into not flying near you. If not maybe a kindly responsible drone operator would bring their drone over to battle it out of the skies follow it and enable you to find and talk to the owner

Have you searched google/YouTube for drone footage in your area to see of you can find any of your garden to show the police

A really long measuring tape - or weighted line marked off at 10m points - then you can say you were just trying to get evidence as to how far away the drone was as it's not supposed to be within 50m of you and as your measuring string is only 40m then it obviously was closer because you weren't expecting to actually hit it.

Tell the police that it's suspicious behaviour and you're worried that they are canvassing your house as they have been back repeatedly including at nighttime so the can see in more easily and when there's a higher chance of seeing people getting changed etc. Ask them what they would do if there was somebody sitting watching / filming your street in normal circumstances.

Is there a local pub or shop or even village gossip (as well as the already mentioned Facebook pages) that you could ask around in - where people might know or it might get back to the person.

Make sure you try to film it every time it comes near enough to annoy you. And get a notebook to write down the details every time so you can show the harassment you experience just like you would if you were complaining about repeated loud noise. It might also help you to notice any patterns about when you see it and thus you can be aware it's likely to be there so you can be ready to throw things at it record it again.

dowhatnow · 15/07/2016 09:50

This is only the beginning of this sort of problem. I think there are potential huge problems for the future.

MrsGideon · 15/07/2016 09:54

ABC and SemiNormal

The OP actually said that her son walks around naked inside their house, and the drone has been seen hovering outside the windows looking in. So I would actually be extremely concerned that they were recording/taking photos, and there's no way it could conceivably be an accident if the child isn't even in the garden

Crinkle77 · 15/07/2016 09:55

I sawa drone flying round a few weeks ago. Hear this weird noise and could just see these green lights. At one point I am sure it was watching me too cos I hanging out of the bedroom window and it was hovering right above me. Thankfully it was just the once but it is very disturbing.

MangoBiscuit · 15/07/2016 09:56
VulpesVulpes · 15/07/2016 12:57

Jeez I'd be furious if this happened to me and be demanding that the police check their computers just in case. Feels so pervy. Sure it's completely harmless and innocent but they have no right to be filming you and your kids without your permission and who knows what they are doing with the footage!

P1nkP0ppy · 15/07/2016 13:09

I'd be absolutely furious, dh said he'd have no qualms about blasting it with a shotgun.
I can't believe that there's nothing the police can do, sUrey it's invasion of privacy or harassment?

confuugled1 · 15/07/2016 13:17

This thread inspired me to google to see if there was any drone footage near me - and within a couple of clicks I'd found high quality drone footage that didn't quite go over my garden but went up to about 10 doors away so ridiculously close.

Although it was flying about the height of the local church's tower (because they flew around it and other stuff seems to be from about the same height!) it was more than enough to see clearly into back gardens, to see people out walking their dogs (and you'd be able to identify them if you knew the local dog walkers), spook some horses in a paddock, get a really good idea of what people's back gardens are like...

Found it really intrusive - and that's without me actually being on the footage. Would hate to find my home on it.

No idea what you can do about it though, especially when it's a one off film (slightly different from your case, I know, I think your case is much worse).

Mummaaaaaah · 15/07/2016 13:24

YANBU ! I had the same thing the other day and went marching over to my neighbours and found out it was them. They were mortified I was upset and absolutely knew they were in the wrong. It didn't have a camera on it but I wasn't to know that and it was a nice day so the kids were running around in the garden without clothes on (as they do!!)

Definitely agree that if they are targetting you, on your property you are well within your rights to do something about it. Airgun???

BTW I run a production company and am sending one of my team on a drone pilots course. The rules regarding flying are incredibly tight (as they should be).

TFletchersWife · 15/07/2016 13:29

Wouldn't Article 8 of the Human Rights Act protect you from this?