Touch new restrictions are coming into force today creating:

• 400m drone ‘no-fly zones’ around prisons
• 10-year maximum prison sentence for criminals who breach restrictions
• Major disruption to criminal gangs as key drug supply route cut off

It is automatically an offence to fly a drone within a no-fly zone. Breaking the rules occurs a maximum fine of £2,500 whilst smuggling illicit items, which drive violence and criminality in custody may face up to a decade in prison.

This new law has been introduced because drone sightings (over 500) near prisons have more than doubled between 2019 and 2021, reports Conservative Post.

Requests to operate inside these Restricted Areas can be made by submitting the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s Regulation notification form.

95 prisons have bolstered prison security measures with next-generation trace detection equipment and 75 additional prisons equipped with X-ray body scanners.