Ten firemen sent to fetch stuck drone

TEN firemen were called out to remove a drone stuck in a tree in a London park.

The response to retrieve the drone, from the top of a 30ft tree in Battersea Park, has been branded a “waste of resources”, as firemen returned the drone to its owner despite a rule banning the use of unmanned aerial drones in the park.

Witnesses assumed the officers from London Fire Brigade were rescuing a cat until they spotted the small remote-controlled device in a “precarious” position in the branches of the tree.

Flying drones in Battersea Park is banned by local council rules, and under Civil Aviation Authority restrictions to protect helicopters taking off and landing at the nearby London Heliport.

It is thought that the drone’s owner had been filming with an on-board camera before losing control of the device.

Two fire engines attended the scene, on Sunday afternoon, and witnesses said several firemen stood underneath the tree holding a large canopy to catch the drone, while other crew used a high-powered hose to free the drone from the tree.

One woman who was visiting the park said the response was “a bit excessive”, The Times reported.

“Everyone thought they were rescuing a cat at first until we saw the hose,” she said. “No one could believe it when we heard it was a drone. Everyone was quite disappointed too.”

James Price, campaign manager at the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said that the drone’s owner should be charged.

“Not only is this a complete waste of time, it also represents money and resources that could and should be used better elsewhere,” he said.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: “We were called at 1.28pm to a drone in a precarious position in a tree.

“One drone was brought safely to the ground using a high-pressure hose. The incident was over at 1.58pm.”