Wiltshire Police, through Facebook, are appealing for the public to keep an eye on the fields for circle makers and first-on-the-scene photographers. Most weirdly, they’re also after sightings of ‘people in crop fields’. So, urinators, farmers, walkers, wandering hippies and aliens need to watch out.
Being serious, now:
It’s uncertain if the press release, reproduced below, is a genuine attempt to assist farmers or little more than a case of being seen to do something against the crop circle ‘menace’. If it’s the former, why the upsurge in interest now?
The implication here is that flying a drone above a field is considered a matter for the police, as apparently the public should report number plates. Is it an offence? I’m aware you’re not allowed to fly within 50m of private residences and crowds etc, but do farmers own the airspace above their fields too?Assuming the drone operator does not set foot on the land itself, I can’t see why it’s a police matter
Drone Operator — I think the author of the press release is largely clutching at straws. An article in the Telegraph is more specific and suggests the police are most interested in drone users turning up to visit crop circles in the first hours of daylight. You can read it here.
I think you would have to be rather stupid not to think that flying a drone at silly o’clock in the morning over a crop formation that was not there when the sun set the previous day, would not alert a local farmer to the fact that something suspicious is going on.
As the sun rises in the morning, the drone is launched over the new creation in the field. How did they know it was there? Good question. This of course allows no time for the formation to have been discovered by random methods such as air traffic, by ramblers, by general sightseers, and then reported, and then of course posted on social media etc. If this discovery by natural means happens, the time gap in reporting then opens up the possibility of something other happening, rather than a bloke/lady flying a drone conveniently at sunrise being involved suspiciously with the circles creation.
Of course being spotted by the farmer at silly o’clock in the morning flying a drone over his/hers field, is not going to do much for them not wanting to report these individuals to the authorities. Strange cars parked in small country lanes by early rising farmers is also going to set alarm bells off. Add to this the fact that one well known prolific drone operator has a high profile when it comes to Wiltshire farmers, well known that is as a circle maker. He has had no reluctance in plastering this fact all over the internet with his ill conceived Circle Makers Internet TV show.
In fact the reason so many circles are being cut out today can be laid firmly at the door of this individual well known for his antagonistic behaviour towards farmers. Although he tried to palm off the fact that he was largely responsible for this grand cutting onto other individuals, who were just trying to build better relationships with the farming community.
The urge to be first, to be in the know, to bully for information to the degree that it is detrimental to the phenomenon, seems to be paramount for some individuals. And one individual in particular.
Unfortunately with the silly o’clock brigade comes the winding up of the farming community, and the only result is the cutting out of formations. Also being reported to the police is highly likely. And of course the crop circle concerned is relegated to a manmade hoax, as the circumstances surrounding its discovery are so suspicious that there is not really much room for manoeuvre on its origins. No mystery so who cares. Nothing to see here. Move on.
But as long as they have their silly o’clock photos, and the best known crop circle website has the images of this mysterious creation, discovered at silly o’clock, with lens flare plentiful in the first images as the sun is barely up over the horizon, as it’s rays are pouring down the drones cameras lens, then who cares!
But if the silly o’clock drone operators are reported to the police, then they only have themselves to blame.