An alarming video has been released that shows a flying quadcopter drone with a gun strapped to it shooting the firearm four times in a woodland area.

The 14-second clip, uploaded by YouTube user Hogwit, could not be immediately verified but appears genuine, as both shells drop to the ground and the drone recoils backwards when each bullet is fired.

Hogwit describes the contraption in the video, simply titled 'Flying gun' as a, "Homemade multirotor with a semiautomatic handgun mounted on it," and that "the length from the muzzle to the rear of the frame is over 26 [inches]".

The video comes as concerns have been raised over the possible harmful intent that can be inflicted by drone users.

In the UK, the civil aviation authority has rules concerning the operation of drones and model aircraft, but with a time gap and few ways of tracking the operators it's hard to enforce.

Current UK legislation dictates that UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) have to be flown at least 50m away from people, vehicles, buildings or structures, and they cannot be flown over groups of people at any height. In addition, the maximum flight height is 400 feet, with the quadcopter having to remain within 500m of the pilot.

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