A DRONE operator has been given "strong advice" by North Yorkshire Police over his flights.

PC Paul Beckwith was the force's first drone operator, and discovered the latest inappropriate use online this week, which included a commercial website, based in North Yorkshire, which had made flights to take photographs over busy public areas, including the Vangarde shopping centre.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), restrictions on drone flights include flying below 400 feet, 150 metres from people and properties, and 500 feet from crowds and built-up areas, with no 'overflying' of crowds allowed, without CAA permission.

York Press:

PC Beckwith said: "I saw these images and thought 'that's odd', as even we wouldn't have had permission to get those. I contacted him and he said he didn't have permission from the CAA, because he was an amateur.

"We had a conversation about the flight he'd done which I thought would pose a danger to the public. He said he thought he was okay, so I pointed out he wasn't. Anyone who does commercial work with drones has to have permission from the CAA, as that comes with training, insurance and competence so they can plan flights safely.

"We also went into the website side of it and he said he wasn't offering work, just posting pictures, but his site had quotes on how much construction costs could be saved by use of drone technology or how you could improve business using drones. Basically, he has been given strong advice in a formal letter."

In December, reports of a drone being used nearby meant thousands of travellers were stranded at Gatwick Airport after all flights were grounded, and PC Beckwith said while the local cases were less disruptive, he had spoken personally to "three or four people in the last six months", regarding inappropriate flying of drones in North Yorkshire.

Under current legislation, the CAA would prosecute anyone found breaching regulations where collisions or near misses had occurred, while police would prosecute misuse of drones.

He said: "It's quite new, we're not generally getting a lot of offenders as it's a new area of legislation, but it's potentially dangerous and people naively think they aren't going to do any harm, but the difference is people who do it professionally are approved by the CAA so it's not for an individual hobbyist to make that decision.

"We tend to get commercial operators complaining about this as well, as they spend a fortune doing it right and these other people are just doing what they want. Anyone we speak to about this, should any further reports come to light, they would be investigated further."