Drone alert: Farmers warned over airborne fuel theft scouts

The farmer believes the drone was scoping his property out. Photo / 123RF

A South Island dairy farmer has warned others in the rural community to be aware after an incident that saw a drone cruising by farm buildings in the dead of night.

The distressing encounter on Monday night saw a female farm worker come face to face with one of the devices as she prepared for bed, in what the farmer believes was a scouting mission ahead of a potential raid on his bulk fuel tanks.

The worker, who the Herald has agreed not the name, said it all took place around 9.30pm on Monday, as she was preparing to go to sleep at her home on the farm.

She was in bed when she heard a persistent "humming" noise from outside, which she initially ignored before the noise grew louder.

"I decided to have a wee geez out the window and first I thought it was a plane in the distance, because of the light flashing - and then slowly it was coming towards my window"

The worker said she then realised it was a drone by its distinctive hovering movement.

She said the felt uncomfortable throughout the encounter, which lasted a full 30 minutes, and called police for assistance.

She also told the Herald the drone didn't appear to notice her in the darkened house but she had only peeked out from behind the curtains as she was a little scared of the dark at the best of times.

"Initially I was going to go out there and bash it down," the worker said, revealing she had never seen a drone on the property before.

The worker said that she wanted to install security cameras after the incident, a sentiment echoed by her employer who said he had already purchased cameras as a direct result of the aerial intrusion.

The farmer said he believed that the farm's bulk fuel tanks were the target and warned other farmers to be aware of drones around their properties, saying that police had told him that are being used to check rural properties before thefts.

A police spokesperson confirmed to the Herald that they were aware of the incident but shot down the claims of drone scouts, saying that the intent of the drone operator is not known and "there are currently no leads that could aid police in identifying the operator".

They also said that police in the area were not aware of the use of drones in other rural burglaries and noted there did not appear to have been any recent increase in fuel thefts.