Latest news with #HilaryBaker
Daily Mirror
21-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
'England's prettiest village' is 'like North Korea' as drones snoop on homes
People living in 'England's prettiest village' say tourists are unleashing swarms of drones and 'spying' on their homes - leaving them feeling like they 'live in North Korea' Residents of a picturesque village described as England's 'most beautiful' say they are being terrorised by drones flying over their homes - and have compared it to living in North Korea. Castle Combe in the Cotswolds attracts tourists from all over the world thanks to its charming rows of cottages and enchanting winding streets - but a new trend among some visitors has left many locals feeling "spied on" and worried for their own safety. An increasing number of day-trippers are said to be bringing drones with them to capture aerial footage of the Wiltshire village to share on social media, putting them at odds with villagers and even reportedly leading to the police being called on multiple occasions. One resident, Hilary Baker, told the MailOnline: "You feel like you're being spied on, like you're living in North Korea." It comes amid a rise in reports of other invasive and unwelcome behaviours from tourists, and Hilary said others had been spotted using using suction-cups to attach their phones to cottage windows to take photograph of themselves. On other occasions, nuisance visitors are said to have peeked through windows, used drones to observe villagers while they're in the bath, and even peeked through their letterboxes to have a look inside. Some residents have now taken to putting up 'no drones' signs in their windows, though this is not thought to have halted the trend. Villager Draven McConville said he had stepped in on multiple occasions in to ask people not to use the devices, including one man who had launched one from the bottom of his driveway. While many of these resulted in "reasonable conversations" which saw the drone users pack them away, other visitors have subjected him to "verbal abuse for no real reason", he told the BBC. A sign has also been put up in the village's car park asking visitors not to fly drones within 50 metres of people's property. Castle Combe is often hailed as one of Britain's most idyllic villages, and its rustic charm has seen it act as the setting for a number of popular blockbusters, including Stardust, The Wolf Man, and Steven Spielberg's War Horse. Its unique weavers' cottages are constructed from local stone, and stand largely unchanged from down the centuries as a result of strict building regulations. Modern fixtures like satellite dishes and external wiring on house exteriors are forbidden, and tight planning permissions restrictions apply to the size of extensions and garden buildings. The village, which was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, prospered the success of 'Castlecombe', a red and white cloth that was in high demand in markets across the south of England.
The Independent
02-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Independent
Cotswolds villagers call for ban on tourists' drones after man filmed in bath
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.'
The Independent
02-06-2025
- 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
01-06-2025
- 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
30-05-2025
- 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.'
