Capable of covering a 15-mile radius – it will be the council’s ‘eye in the sky’
17:55, 23 Apr 2026Updated 17:56, 23 Apr 2026
Capable of covering a 15-mile radius – Badle 0.1 will be the council’s ‘eye in the sky’ and has thermal imaging too for night(Image: Dudley Council)
A drone will take to the sky to help tackle anti-social behaviour in Dudley this summer.
Blade 0.1 – capable of covering a 15-mile radius – will be Dudley Council’s ‘eye in the sky’ this summer.
Equipped with zoom technology, the drone will be flown up to 120m high and up to a distance of up to 500m.
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It will be used to stop anti-social behaviour, including ‘off-road bikes, fly-tipping and cannabis farms’ in Dudley.
Night flights will also take place due to the drone being fitted with thermal imaging technology, spotlight and GPS mapping.
The use of the drone forms part of the council’s ‘zero tolerance’ approach to anti-social behaviour, which typically increases during warmer weather and longer, lighter evenings.
It will also be used to track off-road bikes, for fly tipping investigations and to identify potholes.
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The thermal technology will also allow the council to identify properties potentially being used to harvest and grow illegal drugs.
By capturing illegal activity on camera, the authority will be able to identify and catch perpetrators and bring cases against rogue individuals and activity.
Footage can be shared with police for their own additional investigations.
Michael Brereton, the council’s director for development and regulation, said: “Anti-social behaviour is a real concern to our residents, particularly during the summer months, whether it’s off-road bikes, noisy neighbours, dangerous dogs or criminal activity in our communities.
“We recently passed a new anti-social behaviour policy and this is just the beginning of our roll-out, we will not let this sort of behaviour go unpunished.
“The drone will be our eyes in the sky and help us identify and bring offenders to justice.”