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Man fined £1,800 in first UK drone conviction Man fined for flying drone at football matches and Buckingham Palace
(about 1 hour later)
An amateur film-maker who flew unmanned aircraft over Premier League football stadiums and near Buckingham Palace has become the first person in the UK to be successfully prosecuted for operating drones illegally. A drone enthusiast has been fined and banned from pursuing his hobby after he was convicted of flying remote control aircraft over and around Premier League football stadiums, parliament and Buckingham Palace.
Security guard Nigel Wilson, 42, was fined £1,800 and told he had shown “flagrant disregard” for people’s safety as he shot videos to upload to his YouTube channel, using three unmanned aircraft, Westminster magistrates court heard on Tuesday. Nigel Wilson, a security guard from Nottingham, posted videos to YouTube showing views from heights of at least 100 metres of Premier League, Champions League and Championship football matches. It is the first time a person has been prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service for using drones following a police-led operation.
It is the first time a person has been prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service for using drones following a police-led operation. Other videos showed views of Big Ben from close range, the Queen Victoria memorial next to Buckingham Palace, HMS Belfast at its mooring on the Thames and the Shard, Europe’s tallest skyscraper, all accompanied by a dramatic soundtrack.
Between September and November last year, Wilson filmed aerial views, from heights of at least 100 metres, of Premier League, Champions League and Championship matches. In one incident at Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC, the 42-year-old flew a drone close to mounted police officers, who struggled to regain control after the aircraft startled their horses, Westminster magistrates court heard.
Related: Man charged for allegedly flying drones over UK landmarks Prior to his arrest at a football match in Manchester last October he flew a drone over what appeared to be a train.
Other videos with a dramatic soundtrack showed Big Ben from close range, the Queen Victoria memorial next to Buckingham Palace and the Shard skyscraper. Police horses were startled by the device as Wilson flew it at a Champions League group stage game between Liverpool and Ludogorets at Anfield, the court heard. Fining him a total of £1,800 for nine offences, district judge Quentin Purdy told Wilson he showed “flagrant disregard” for people’s safety by flying his three drones over busy, built-up areas.
The married father of two also filmed a Derby County v Reading Championship clash at Derby stadium, an Arsenal v Tottenham match at the Emirates stadium, and Manchester City’s game against Tottenham at the Etihad stadium. “At each and every one of these places an accident could have occurred simply by a gust of wind or something of that nature taking it out of your control,” the judge said.
Prior to his arrest at the game in Manchester he flew the drone over what appeared to be a train. Some of the videos filmed between September and October last year – posted on his “PV2 + Adventures” YouTube channel – carried a banner telling viewers “please subscribe”.
District judge Quentin Purdy fined the defendant £200 for each of the nine offences he admitted. He was also ordered to pay £600 in costs and a £20 surcharge, while forfeiting the drones and cameras.
Purdy told Wilson he had put the public at risk by flying the drones over busy, built-up areas. He said: “At each and every one of these places an accident could have occurred simply by a gust of wind or something of that nature taking it out of your control.
“In each and every case you knew what you were doing. Several times you were warned by police, who seized drones from you, and on numerous occasions by people posting on your YouTube channel. It was the height of arrogance in terms of public safety.”“In each and every case you knew what you were doing. Several times you were warned by police, who seized drones from you, and on numerous occasions by people posting on your YouTube channel. It was the height of arrogance in terms of public safety.”
The defendant was also given two crime prevention orders banning him from purchasing, borrowing or using for any purpose a drone or encouraging anyone else to do so. Wilson was also forced to forfeit his drone equipment and handed two crime prevention orders banning him from purchasing, borrowing or using for any purpose a drone or encouraging anyone else to do so. He must also pay £600 costs and a £20 surcharge.
Wilson, from Bingham in Nottingham, pleaded guilty to four charges of flying small, unmanned surveillance aircraft over a congested area and five of not maintaining direct, unaided visual contact with a small unmanned surveillance aircraft.
Prosecutor Katie Weiss did not present evidence in relation to eight other charges.
Susan Bryant, defending, described her client as a “hobbyist”, adding: “It was something he put a great amount of time into in terms of improving his skill.”Susan Bryant, defending, described her client as a “hobbyist”, adding: “It was something he put a great amount of time into in terms of improving his skill.”
The Air Navigation Order 2009 says operators of small unmanned surveillance aircraft must not fly them over or within 150 metres of any congested area, over or within 150 metres of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 people, or within 50 metres of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the user’s control, unless they have obtained permission from the Civil Aviation Authority. Wilson had pleaded guilty to four charges of flying small unmanned surveillance aircraft over a congested area and five of not maintaining direct, unaided visual contact with a small unmanned surveillance aircraft. The prosecution offered no evidence for eight other charges.
The Air Navigation Order 2009 says drone operators must not fly them over or within 150 metres of any congested area, over or within 150 metres of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1,000 people, or within 50 metres of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the user’s control, unless they have obtained permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
It also says users must maintain direct visual contact with a drone throughout its flight path so they can avoid collisions with people and buildings.It also says users must maintain direct visual contact with a drone throughout its flight path so they can avoid collisions with people and buildings.
Related: Man charged for allegedly flying drones over UK landmarks
Wilson was initially arrested by officers from Greater Manchester police on 18 October 2014, after reports of a drone flying over the Etihad stadium.
He was bailed while officers carried out further inquiries. When he returned on bail in January 2015, he was arrested again by officers from the Metropolitan police, after a joint investigation into Wilson with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which had been contacted about his drone-flying activity in London.
Detectives questioned Wilson and released him, but he was later summoned to appear at court in May where he pleaded guilty to two offences. He pleaded guilty to a further seven offences in Westminster magistrates court on Tuesday.
Responding to the sentence, Ch Insp Nick Aldworth, the Metropolitan police’s lead officer on the misuse of drones, said: “Today’s outcome should serve as a warning to anyone thinking of doing similar that they could end up in court if they ignore these regulations.”
A CAA spokesman said: “It is clearly not appropriate to fly a drone over large crowds of people or close to buildings and the CAA will continue working with the police to ensure these safety rules are upheld.”
In April last year, Robert Knowles, 46, of Barrow-in-Furness, became the first person convicted in the UK for “dangerously” flying a drone. He pleaded guilty to flying drones within 50 metres of a structure – the Jubilee bridge on the Walney channel – and flying over a nuclear installation, the BAE Systems submarine-testing facility. Magistrates fined him £800 and ordered to pay costs of £3,500.