Thames Valley Police officer lost control of drone, report finds

The officer lost control of the drone near Henley-on-Thames in April

A police drone lost during a search operation was found miles away in a children's playground, a report has said.

An officer lost control of the drone near Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire in April, and it was recovered 3.1 miles (5km) away the next day.

Thames Valley Police said the drone, worth about £7,500, was used after reports of an unlicensed music event.

The force has said it has learned from the incident.

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report found the drone did not pick up a GPS signal when it was launched and so could not record its take-off point.

Investigators found it lost the connection with its controller and drifted in the wind.

It later landed automatically after being lost at Quarry Span Hill on 3 April at about 23:40 BST.

The AAIB found its pilot had not met the force's own training requirements to operate drones.

It said qualified users should fly the aircraft for a minimum of two hours within a rolling 90-day period.

If that is not met, they must undertake another course with a chief pilot or an instructor.

The pilot had flown for 90 minutes in the 90 days before the Parrot Anafi USA drone was temporarily lost.

Ch Insp Adrian Hall, from Thames Valley Police's Joint Operations Unit, said "individual and organisational learning was identified" after the incident and has been addressed.

The drone is back in use.