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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be concerned about drone catching images of my children in paddling pool

404 replies

Slightlygiganticpants · 04/07/2018 10:12

Last night whilst my dc were playing in the garden, (which is completely private and in a rural location, we have about 3 neighbours) a drone flew over several times. The dc were playing in the paddling pool at this time in various states of undress.

My dh got the children in and I went in search of the drone operator. Located him and started filming him with my phone. He was on the other side of the river from my house. He disliked my filming of him and we became engaged in a fairly heated debate with me calling him a pervert and possibly a peadophileBlush. Apparently what he was doing was completely legal (I believe drone was less than 50 meters from us but that is up for debate) and he wasn't filming the dc. He did also phone the police after I left and then came around and spoke to my dh.

I have looked into this since and have found out that this is legal! How? Surely this can't be right? Surely we have a right to privacy in our own garden!

OP posts:
ChardonnaysPrettySister · 04/07/2018 10:28

Calling him a paedophile was OTT, but he has no business flying that blasted thing over your garden.

MadMags · 04/07/2018 10:28

What did the police say??

postcardsfrom · 04/07/2018 10:29

I don't think you over-reacted, what WAS he filming you for? If he'd been standing at your wall filming you then you could have legitimately called the police so I don't really see the difference because it's a drone. I went out for a hike and someone - a bloke I assume cos women seem to have better bloody things to do - followed me with a drone for over an hour, right above my head and accurate, I wasn't on a path so there must have been camera on the drone. It made me really uncomfortable, and I don't know who it was. Presumably just doing it becuase they can. Men have found a new way to be intrusive and creepy. If someone had physically followed me like that for an hour I would have told them to do one and called the police if they didn't.

Original poster
Slightlygiganticpants · 04/07/2018 10:29

I don't actually know what the police said as he contacted them.

The flying over the garden was not an accident. It was going on for a while. We had time to discuss it, make a judgement call on getting the kids in and then go and try to locate the man.

OP posts:
pandabear13 · 04/07/2018 10:30

I think you acted correctly. What reason does a man have to be flying a drone over a private garden with undressed children running around. How can he film your family and property but then not be happy about you filming him!?

jumblefun2 · 04/07/2018 10:31

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BarbaraofSevillle · 04/07/2018 10:31

Ignoring all the hysteria, the drone code suggests that you shouldn't fly them within 50 metres of people and property and it sounds like he has broken that guidance. You are also supposed to keep the drone in view at all times, it's not clear if this operator has.

As to what you can do about it, IDK.

Buddyelf · 04/07/2018 10:32

Some drones don't have cameras - if there was no camera on it there is no way he could have know there where children in your garden. You should have asked him what he was doing and reported to police if you were suspicious of his behaviour. You can't just accuse people of being paedophiles. If it was a woman would you have said the same?

BertrandRussell · 04/07/2018 10:32

How do you know he was ffilming?

postcardsfrom · 04/07/2018 10:32

Perhaps being filmed made him realise how uncomfortable it is. I'd put what you filmed on social media and warn people - maybe that will make him stop.

52FestiveRoad · 04/07/2018 10:34

We had a drone filming into our dormer window in our roof once. My DH shone a torch at the drone and that seemed to confuse it and it spun round loads of times and then flew off. I phoned the police to check and they said it was illegal to be that close to houses and if we knew where it came from they would come out. We could not find it at that point though. It is an invasion of your privacy and not on imo.

Original poster
Slightlygiganticpants · 04/07/2018 10:34

I went to locate the man. My dh was watching the kids.

The kids were in our large very private garden (extremely well fenced off on all sides) so were allowed to run around in various states of undress.

OP posts:
jumblefun2 · 04/07/2018 10:34

Did both you and your DH go, or just you? Your statements are contradictory, as one of the times you say "we went" and the other is "I"

Don't think much of your DH if he stayed safe in the house and left you to go to look for the man.

postcardsfrom · 04/07/2018 10:35

Buddyelf - the VAST majority of paedophiles are men not women BUT it doesn't answer the question of why he repeatedly flew and filmed children in the privacy of their own garden. That's CREEPY behaviour.
In my experience women don't tend to act like that... but if I woman was filming my garden I'd still want to know why.

WeeDangerousSpike · 04/07/2018 10:35

If it didn't have a camera and he hadn't seen the kids on it then he wouldn't have known where OP lived to come and talk to her DH later, would he? Confused

jumblefun2 · 04/07/2018 10:35

So your DH let you go into danger to go to find someone who you thought was a paedophile and a pervert and he stayed in the house with the kids?

Shumpalumpa · 04/07/2018 10:35

I can understand you calling him a paedophile in the heat of the moment. You reacted to intrusion on your property. He should have reassured you that he wasn't filing you or targeting your property. As he didn't do that, I can see why you were upset.

Did the police have a word with you?

Shumpalumpa · 04/07/2018 10:37

jumblefun2

Clearly OP's DH is not a sister sexist as you to assume women are incapable f taking care of themselves Hmm

Why not just answer the bloody AIBU instead of going off on a tanegent.

MissionItsPossible · 04/07/2018 10:37

What was the conversation had between him and your husband?

chemenger · 04/07/2018 10:37

How do you know he was filming? Quite a few people have asked you. Not all drones have cameras.

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 04/07/2018 10:38

Why should OP have to do that, Jumble?

She and her family are in her garden, she can reasonably expect privacy there.

Why is a drone owner entitled to violate her expectations of remaing private in a non public space?

Original poster
Slightlygiganticpants · 04/07/2018 10:38

I was more annoyed by the intrusion than my dh was and went before he possibly could.

We are surrounded by farmland so there was no reason to enter our property so many times.

OP posts:
CaptainKirkssparetupee · 04/07/2018 10:38

How do you know he was filming?

You've jumped to a massive conclusion.

Awrite · 04/07/2018 10:39

I don't understand all the drone guy defenders. He was invading op's privacy and had the cheek to be angry when she filmed him.

Name calling was escalation. If he was following code or on any way a decent human being he would have apologised and promised it wouldn't happen again.

He didn't, it escalated. At least you have made it clear you won't stand for him filming your garden.

jumblefun2 · 04/07/2018 10:39

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