A parish council in Swindon has deleted aerial footage it published on social media after concerns were raised about the legality of the drone flight.
A one-minute-long video featured hundreds of people at Stratton Festival, held at Grange Leisure and Community Centre, on 18 July this year.
However, the footage appears to have been captured from a sub-250 gram drone directly over crowds of families at the popular event.
According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, it is illegal to fly a drone over crowds, regardless of the size and weight of the aircraft, unless the operator has specific authorisation to do so.
Stratton St Margaret Parish Council uploaded the video to its Facebook page. When concerns were raised about the legality of the drone flight, it was deleted.
A spokesperson said that the council “did not operate the drone during the Stratton Festival”.
Adding that it was “provided to the Parish Council by the drone operator”.
They continued, stating that “the operator is responsible for ensuring that any drone flights are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Aviation Authority and all applicable legislation”.
Wiltshire 999s understands that an internal investigation is underway. The incident isn’t thought to have been reported to the police.
