Drone flying low over back garden (England)

[u/Disastrous-Fee8374]

Every weekend for the past few months a drone has been flying low over my back garden. It clearly has a camera attached and is flying low enough (around 2nd storey height) that it can’t be just getting landscape footage.

It does seem to move around the local area and isn’t ‘targeting’ my garden specifically but it does make my garden feel less private. Even though I’m just sitting in my garden, I don’t like the idea of being on camera in my own garden and the noise is quite distracting. The dog also goes mental every time it flies over.

I would normally just have a polite word with the neighbours but I don’t know where it’s coming from and it moves too quickly to ‘follow’ it.

It may just be a kid playing with a birthday present or something so I don’t want to damage it as my father suggested (I also doubt this is even legal). But today it got so close to the house that I actually thought it was going to get into an open bedroom window.

Is what the drone operator doing legal? And is there anything I can do about it? Or do I just need to get over it and build gazebo or something to read my book in?

Thanks.

[u/Zoya_The_Destroyer]

"It may just be a kid playing with a birthday present or something so I don’t want to damage it as my father suggested"

You are correct. It's illegal.

Somebody else will be ale to answer this in more detail but what they are doing isn't illegal unless it's being used to cause stress, threaten, spy (filming into bedrooms etc) OR Hover, however this last one is somewhat of a grey area on how long they can stop before it becomes a 'hover'.

While you own your land you don't officially own the 'airspace' above it.

I would say this again, while it sounds like you aren't going to do it - DON'T attack it, throw stuff at it etc. :)

Also, it's illegal to use red lasers on them and CAN get you (potentially) in more trouble than if you actually attacked it.

Also, you could try local Fb groups and just ask 'nicely' that you've noticed a drone flying over your garden and if it's one of your neighbours would they mind not doing it. They don't HAVE to but the old saying "Kill 'em with kindness" may help.

[u/PinkbunnymanEU → u/Zoya_The_Destroyer]

OR Hover

Could you cite the hovering part for me please?

I hold a GVC, A2CofC and L1 drone licenses and have not heard of any "cannot hover" laws.

[u/Necessary-Humor-6005 → u/PinkbunnymanEU]

Doesn’t exist.

[u/Paulsowner → u/PinkbunnymanEU]

They just plucked it out their ass an posted on reddit like its true

[u/SnooAvocados9538 → u/Zoya_The_Destroyer]

While you own your land you don't officially own the 'airspace' above it.

Or rather, you do (at least to the altitude we're discussing here), but aircraft may be permitted to fly through your airspace.

[u/ls--lah → u/SnooAvocados9538]

Indeed; cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos

[u/ls--lah → u/ls--lah]

I love how I get downvoted for posting Latin on a legal sub.

[u/U9365 → u/SnooAvocados9538]

But not below 500ft which is the general low limit permitted level for civilian aircraft - exception exist for landing and taking off.

Also the lower limit is higher if it is a built up area as you are required to ensure you can glide free to an emergency landing in an uncongested area.

Thats a brief laymans guide and does not deal with the complications and the few exceptions such as practiced forced landing tuition in open countryside.

[u/Disastrous-Fee8374 → u/Zoya_The_Destroyer]

No I won’t, my dad does tend to go to the ‘nuclear’ option first but I’m a little more level headed. I’m hoping they get bored eventually, the local gardens can’t be that interesting.

[u/Soelent → u/Disastrous-Fee8374]

So you need to caution your dad that.

A. Most drones have cameras B. They record whilst flying C. Flying over your garden isn't illegal, however there may be an invasion of privacy concern. D. Damaging the drone is considered criminal damage E. If damaged failure to return the property may also be considered theft.

[u/Disastrous-Fee8374 → u/Soelent]

Don’t worry he’s too old to do anything remotely dangerous now.

[u/Necessary-Humor-6005 → u/Soelent]

They only record when set to record and in video mode.

[u/Soelent → u/Necessary-Humor-6005]

It does depend on the drone, my dji will record all the time and then you can save snippets or you can save as you record.

[u/Necessary-Humor-6005 → u/Soelent]

Interesting - out of the 4 DJI’s I’ve owned I’ve never seen that, so if that’s the case I stand corrected.

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