“Two men suspected of stealing a Renault Clio in Bootle were tracked by the UAV, which is a remote-controlled aerial camera operated by a police officer on the ground, and after fleeing the vehicle, one man was immediately arrested while another hid in thick undergrowth”, boasts a recent press release issued by Britain’s Merseyside Police.

“But thanks to the UAV’s onboard thermal imaging technology, its operator was able to use live images of the body-heat the suspect was giving out and direct patrols on the ground and in the dark to where he was”, it states, going on:

“The second alleged offender was arrested shortly after he abandoned the Clio.

“Merseyside Police is the only police force in the country to operate a UAV and this was the first time since it was introduced last November that the specific use of its thermal imaging camera led to an arrest.”

But by using its new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, “the force may have committed a criminal offence since it did not have permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to fly the device”, says the Telegraph.

“One 20-year-old was arrested at the scene, and a 16-year-old who ran away and hid in bushes 100 metres (300ft) away was tracked down by the UAV”, says the story, but, “Merseyside Police appears to have overlooked new legislation was brought in on 1 January 2010 amid concerns about the safety implications of flying unmanned aircraft in built-up areas”, it says, quoting a police spokesman as saying:

“Since the force has known of the change in regulations all UAV flights have been suspended and will remain so until the appropriate licence has been granted”.

UK police want to use the same kind of drones as those deployed in Afghanistan for the ‘routine’ monitoring of antisocial motorists, protesters, agricultural thieves and fly-tippers, in a significant expansion of covert state surveillance,” said the Guardian recently.

“The arms manufacturer BAE Systems, which produces a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for war zones, is adapting the military-style planes for a consortium of government agencies led by Kent police”, it said.

“Documents from the South Coast Partnership, a Home Office-backed project in which Kent police and others are developing a national drone plan with BAE, have been obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act.”

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