A drone that was found circling above the All England Lawn Tennis Club has been seized by London police.
That’s no ordinary tennis club, mind – it’s the home to this week’s Wimbledon international tennis tournament.
There’s nothing yet that suggests the drone was up to no good, although the police say “enquiries continue” into the matter.
The drone was spotted sneaking a bird’s eye view of the courts at 8:37am on Saturday, June 27.
It’s reported that a number of tennis stars were on site at the time, included Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, and Maria Sharapova.
London’s finest soon tracked the drone’s pilot down to a nearby golf course, and confiscated the unmanned aerial vehicle on the spot.
Related: 11 jawdropping videos that will make you want a drone
“It is an offence to fly a drone within 50 metres of a structure,” explained Inspector Roger Robinson, of Merton police. “Anyone intending to fly a drone should give prior consideration to the surrounding landscape and any structures or venues.”
He added: “While it is not our intention to prevent people from enjoying the use of drones, it is important that regulations are adhered to.
It’s already an offence to fly drones in London’s eight Royal Parks, so this is just one more example of how easy it is for drone enthusiasts to get into the authorities’ bad books.
If this latest drone fiasco has given you a hankering for some unmanned aerial action, check out our guide to the future of drones in the UK.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.