Residents voice concerns as five army drones crash
HI-TECH army drones worth £6m each have been damaged beyond repair during tests in Cardigan Bay.
Five of the drones which help gather intelligence for the army have plunged to earth – including one which crashed near a school.
Four of the Watchkeeper drones were damaged beyond repair.
In 2005, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) ordered 54 of the drones as part of a deal which ran behind schedule and £400m over budget.
Nearby residents have spoken of their concerns and the noise caused by the unmanned planes, which are controlled remotely.
One resident has lived near West Wales Airport, where the vehicles are being tested, for about 20 years and can see the runway from her windows.
Retired opera singer Eirian James said: “They are extremely noisy. They go around and around. It’s not as if they just take off and go away, they do circuits.”
She added: “It’s disgusting when you think what that money could be spent on. It’s no fun living here.”
Ms James said in 2017 two drones crashed into a field and another into the runway.
Jill Gough lives about a mile from West Wales Airport and said the money could be better spent.
Ms Gough said: “If they were to fly to help people then that would be different. But they are about spying and death from above. It’s horrible. They sound like flying vacuumcleaners. Some weeks they fly over many times a day but we have not had it recently.
“If you think what that money could do if it was invested in the local area, to maybe help some local businesses get set up or even for local hospitals. Just think what that could do. It’s your money, our money.
“We don’t even have that kind of investment in the local area. It feels like they could come down at any time.”
One drone crashed on June 13 near Penparc School. Ms Gough said the school was holding its sports day when the crash happened.
She said: “People saw it circling around and then as one of the parents was driving home, and ironically a learner driver was in front of her on the road between the airport and the school, the drone flew only a few metres above the car and crashed.”
Nobody was hurt during the incident, but Ms Gough said something “horrible” could have happened.
Ceredigion MP Ben Lake has called for Watchkeeper’s flight path to be diverted away from the school.
“There have been significant concerns,” he said. “A lot of people have raised them with me, a lot of parents in particular. They are concerned because they are aware of a number of accidents now with these drones and are asking how safe are they, if they’re flying close to the school.”
Following the crash Watchkeeper flights were paused while an initial investigation took place.
An MoD spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that Watchkeeper resumed flying from West Wales Airport on Tuesday, July 17. Safety remains of paramount importance in all that we do and, following a review, it has been concluded that it is safe to resume flying.”
The independent Defence Accident Investigation Branch inquiry is ongoing.