Footage shows 'illegal' drone flight over Lincoln

YouTube footage has emerged showing an "incredibly irresponsible" drone flight over a city.

Police have previously released an image of the drone pilot in an attempt to trace him, as they believe the flight may have been illegal.

The footage was filmed from the drone as it flew over Lincoln, which is close to two RAF bases.

Flying over congested areas is illegal unless permission is given by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Drones are potentially dangerous because they can fall out of the sky and hit people, and also hit other aircraft in mid-air.

The drone was flown over people walking around the University of Lincoln campus

An expert who trains people to use drones safely looked at the footage for the BBC.

"In my opinion it was illegal on a number of levels," said Sion Owen Roberts, head of academy for RUSTA.

"I was amazed that he decided to fly where he did."

Lincoln is close to two RAF stations - RAF Scampton, which is the home of the Red Arrows, and RAF Waddington, from where military Reaper drones are operated.

"The fact that he was flying so high and close to Waddington and Scampton is incredibly irresponsible," added Mr Roberts.

After looking at the footage he said it looked like the drone had been flown over 400ft - the height limitation for normal operations - at times.

The drone was flown over the Brayford Pool on its way to Lincoln Cathedral, which is on the opposite side of the city

Text at the start of the video states that the man flying the drone could not see it "most of the time".

However, the Civil Aviation Authority's Dronecode says people must "make sure you can see your drone at all times".

Other drone pilots have been prosecuted after filming similar footage, including a Nottinghamshire man who flew flew drones over professional football matches and London landmarks.

The drone pilot filmed himself at the start of the video, which was uploaded to YouTube but could now be used as evidence by police