Latest news with #CastleCombe
The Independent
3 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
The ‘prettiest village in England' launches war on drones
Residents of Castle Combe in the Cotswolds, known as 'the prettiest village in England,' are calling for a ban on tourist drones after incidents of privacy invasion, including one report of a resident being filmed while taking a bath. 'No drone zone' signs have been posted across the village, including on homes, the local church, and the public car park, due to constant drone flights over gardens and streets. A retired police officer, Hilary Baker, reported that some visitors have lost their moral compass, recounting incidents of drones hovering over gardens and near bathroom windows, leading to verbal abuse when residents ask pilots to stop. Police were called last month on a drone pilot who verbally abused locals and allegedly filmed children playing in a back garden; Wiltshire Council has since put up signs warning drone pilots about violating privacy guidelines. A survey by the parish council chairman, Fred Winup, revealed that over half of tourists visit Castle Combe after seeing it online, with many influenced by social media posts on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, leading to increased drone usage and privacy concerns.
The Independent
17 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- The Independent
Residents in scenic Costwolds village fight back against tourists
Residents of Castle Combe in the Cotswolds, known as 'the prettiest village in England,' are calling for a ban on tourist drones after a local resident reported being filmed while taking a bath. 'No drone zone' signs have been placed on homes, the local church, and the public car park due to constant drone flights over gardens and streets in the Wiltshire village. A retired police officer reported instances of drones hovering over gardens and near bathroom windows, leading to feelings of intrusion and verbal abuse when confronting pilots. Police were called last month on a drone pilot who verbally abused locals and allegedly filmed children playing in a back garden. A Wiltshire Council sign in the public car park warns drone pilots that using devices in areas where people expect privacy may violate Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) guidelines.
The Independent
a day ago
- Lifestyle
- The Independent
Villagers fed up of tourists' drones call for ban after man filmed in bath
Fed up residents of 'the prettiest village in England' are calling for a ban on tourists' drones after one local reported being filmed while taking a bath. 'No drone zone' signs have now been plastered across the windows of homes in Castle Combe in the Cotswolds, as well as in the local church and the public car park. Residents say the aircraft are constantly flying over their gardens and streets – and even by one man's bathroom window. Retired police officer Hilary Baker, 69, told The Sunday Times: 'It's almost like some of the visitors have lost their moral compass, they have lost their boundaries. When you go into your back garden and put your washing out and there is a drone hovering 20 yards above your head, it really quite rankles. 'Another neighbour had been working in his garden and jumped in the bath and there was a drone at his bathroom window, watching him in the bath. You just think, really? 'I should think on a monthly basis I will get verbal abuse [for asking them to stop].' Police were reportedly called on a pilot who would not land his drone last month and verbally abused locals when they asked him to respect their privacy. It is claimed he filmed children playing in a back garden and flew up and down the high street hovering at first floor window level. The Independent has contacted Wiltshire Police about the incident. Before the drones, tourists were overstepping boundaries in Castle Combe for years, according to residents, with signs seen asking visitors to not pick flowers or walk down homes' side alleys. But Ms Baker, who has lived in the Wiltshire village for more than three decades, said there has been a recent surge in tourists flying drowns for their social media channels, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. While the picturesque village is only home to a few hundred people, thousands of visitors descend on the area every week, having seen videos on various social media platforms. Often referred to as one of the 'prettiest villages in England', its historic centre is a particular draw as well as its chocolate box cottages. Sisters Lydia Chia, 27, and Deborah Chia, 24, who were posing for photos on a trip from Singapore, told The Times: 'I saw it on my friend's Instagram and a little bit on TikTok. It's really pretty. I pick where to visit based on pictures and aesthetics, and whether or not it's Instagrammable.' Chairman of the parish council Fred Winup found that just over half of tourists chose to visit Castle Combe after seeing it online, in a visitor survey he conducted last year. The retired bank director told of a time a drone followed him along the high street 'just five feet above my head', adding: 'It was a Californian [piloting it], he was a nice guy who didn't know the rules and said he was sorry.' Wiltshire council has now put a sign up in the public car park, following calls from the parish council. The warning to drone pilots reads: 'If you use these devices where people can expect privacy, such as inside their home or garden, you are likely to be contravening CAA [Civil Aviation Authority] guidelines'. The rules that are in place around drones, while complicated, typically require pilots to have the aircraft in their line of sight, to avoid getting close to crowds or building, and to respect people's privacy. With some devices having reportedly crashed into the church roof or resident's trees, Mr Winup said: 'People do lose control of drones and they could take an eye out.'
Times
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Times
Castle Combe villagers swarmed by tourists' drone cameras
When you live in 'the prettiest village in England' you expect to share it with tourists clogging the streets. What you do not expect is one of their drones to film you taking a bath. The residents of Castle Combe, a village in the Cotswolds, have had to place 'no drone zone' signs in their windows, the local church and public car park after being repeatedly buzzed by camera-wielding aircraft flying over their gardens, streets and in one instance by their bathroom window. Police were called last month when one drone pilot refused to land his aircraft after filming children playing in a back garden and flying laps up and down the high street at first-floor window level. After verbally abusing residents who asked him to respect their privacy, police officers were called and forced him to delete his video. Hilary Baker, 69, a retired police officer who has lived in the village for 35 years, said: 'It's almost like some of the visitors have lost their moral compass, they have lost their boundaries.' She added that since the Covid-19 pandemic there had been an increase of drones flown over the Wiltshire village by tourists for their social media channels. 'When you go into your back garden and put your washing out and there is a drone hovering 20 yards above your head, it really quite rankles,' she said. 'Another neighbour had been working in his garden and jumped in the bath and there was a drone at his bathroom window, watching him in the bath. You just think, really? 'I should think on a monthly basis I will get verbal abuse [for asking them to stop].' Even before the drones appeared, tourists have been overstepping boundaries in the village for years. There are handwritten signs asking visitors not to pick flowers planted outside homes and not to walk down the side alleys of houses. 'Gateways can be locked but people still climb over them and picnic on the private lawns by the river,' Baker said. 'Most people are lovely but they have got to get 'the picture'.' Castle Combe has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. People have been drawn to the historic centre of the village where a new house has not been built since about 1600. It has also been the setting for films such as Doctor Dolittle, released in 1967, and Steven Spielberg's War Horse in 2011. A major pull for the thousands of tourists who visit each week are the videos of the village they see on social media sites such as Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. ALAMY Lydia Chia, 27, and her sister Deborah, 24, from Singapore, were visiting this week, posing for a plethora of photos against the small honey-coloured stone houses as well as on the bridge over the tranquil brook. 'I saw it on my friend's Instagram and a little bit on TikTok,' Lydia, a customer success manager, said. 'It's really pretty. I pick where to visit based on pictures and aesthetics, and whether or not it's instagrammable.' Her sister, who is studying marketing at the University of Stirling, said the village was 'relatively less crowded than London city centre' and 'more chilled'. Fred Winup, a retired bank director who has been the chairman of the parish council for 18 years, conducted a visitor survey last year which found that 51 per cent of visitors came after seeing the village online. Winup once had a drone follow him along the high street 'just five feet above my head', he said, adding: 'It was a Californian [piloting it], he was a nice guy who didn't know the rules and said he was sorry.' The parish council has persuaded Wiltshire council to erect a sign at the public car park, built 730 metres up steep and narrow roads from the centre, warning drone pilots: 'If you use these devices where people can expect privacy, such as inside their home or garden, you are likely to be contravening CAA [Civil Aviation Authority] guidelines'. ADRIAN SHERRATT FOR THE TIMES The rules and guidelines around flying different types of drones can be complicated but usually involve having a line of sight of the drone, not getting close to crowds or buildings, and respecting people's privacy. 'People do lose control of drones and they could take an eye out,' Winup said. Some drone operators have crashed their devices onto the church roof and one ended up stuck in a tree in a resident's back garden. Mike, a renewable energy consultant who moved to the village 20 years ago from Clapham, London, said his daughters would sunbathe in bikinis in the back garden and that it was a 'gross invasion of privacy' when a drone flew over his garden several times at close range. 'I have said to people, 'Go and perv somewhere else',' he said. 'The back gardens are our little havens of privacy.' There are only 39 full-time residents living in lower Castle Combe, where the tourists congregate, whereas 20 years ago, residents said, the houses were almost all occupied by people who had lived there for decades. ADRIAN SHERRATT FOR THE TIMES Some have been bought up by Americans and Australians, whom few locals have seen in the decades since they turned the properties into holiday rentals. Others are second homes for Britons. Anna, a local business owner, said: 'If I didn't have a business here I would be seriously pissed off. It's lost its community and I think one day we will get fed up with it.'
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Telegraph
Cotswold residents say their privacy is under attack by drones
Residents in a Cotswold village say their privacy is under attack by drones peering through their windows. People in Castle Combe, Wiltshire, have claimed that drone footage of children playing in a garden was seized by police and a pedestrian was followed by a device. The number of tourists recording aerial footage of the houses and streets has reportedly increased since the Covid-19 pandemic. The village, dubbed one of the most beautiful places in the UK, is home to about 400 people and visited by thousands of tourists every year. Residents also fear that the drones could make people more vulnerable to a burglary, which has been a problem in the area. Castle Combe Parish Council has now put up signs around the village warning people not to use drones, while villagers have propped up 'no drone' signs in their windows. Nick Botterill, a former district councillor for Castle Combe, said the drones were a 'nuisance' and posed a security threat. The retired business owner said: 'People are having them at quite low levels when there are lots of people around, so it's not just a privacy issue; actually is it safe to do so in confined areas? 'It could be a security risk as well because we have had burglaries in the area.' 'They could easily crash them into buildings, they're taking pictures of people's private [homes]. They're a nuisance on numerous levels. Somebody was followed along the street by one,' the 62-year-old added. Fred Winup, who has been the chairman of the parish council for 18 years, said many 'amateur' drone users are breaking the law without realising. 'About a month ago, somebody was filming children in a garden and the police were called and seized the footage. It's just not on to do that sort of thing,' he said. 'The majority of users are not intentionally wanting to cause a problem, they like to have a memory of a pretty village, but they don't realise they're invading people's privacy in their homes.' Mr Winup said that since the sign at the entrance to the village was put up by the council explaining the rules of drone usage, fewer people seemed to be using them – with two or three drones flying overhead on a busy day. He added: 'When I explain to people they are causing an issue almost invariably they understand. A lot are foreign; a guy from California was flying a drone just above my head as I walked down the street. 'I asked: 'Why are you doing that?' 'We were both pleasant and came to an agreement to take it down.'
