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02
Oct
Harrogate Town drone mystery solved
Police have solved the mystery of the drone flyover that took place during a Harrogate Town match on Tuesday (September 30).
The players had to be taken off the pitch in the 86th minute of Harrogate’s EFL Trophy fixture against Huddersfield Town when a drone was spotted overhead.
The teams returned to their dressing rooms, before the match was eventually restarted with Town running out 1-0 winners.
Town boss Simon Weaver and defender Jacob Slater both admitted post-match that they’d never seen anything like it before.
The Stray Ferret contacted North Yorkshire Police this week to enquire whether it had investigated the issue.
A spokesperson said:
A football match between Harrogate Town and Huddersfield on Tuesday afternoon was temporarily paused due to a drone flying overhead. The match resumed within a few minutes, and our officers conducted a search of the area. Enquiries identified that a local teenager had been operating the drone, without malicious intent. He was given words of advice.
The drone at Tuesday's match. Picture: Colin Philpott
Official EFL guidelines on drones say stewards, security staff, and police should search areas identified as potential launch sites for drones.
Terrorism and hostile reconnaissance are listed as risks, but the guidelines say there have been no examples in the UK of the machines being used for those purposes.
Harrogate’s next fixture is a televised home league match against Crewe Alexandra on Monday, October 6.
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