Manchester City drone spy pilot Nigel Wilson dodges court date

Nigel Wilson, the man accused of illegally flying his drone over famous landmarks, such as the Palace of Westminster, the Queen Victoria Memorial and Manchester City's football ground, failed to show up to court to stand trial over his offences.

The 42-year old from Nottingham was summoned to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 16 April following a string of drone-related offences.

There seemed to be some confusion, however, as the defendant was apparently told by his solicitors that there was no need to attend. The case has now been adjourned until 7 May, but district judge Quentin Purdy has warned that proceeding will go on as planned even if Wilson fails to show again.

Wilson is accused of breaching the Air Navigation Act 2009 17 times in total after allegedly flying an unmanned surveillance aircraft over several famous UK sites between 13 September and 2 December 2014, including the two aforementioned locations as well as football stadiums while games were being played, such as Liverpool's Anfield, Arsenal's Emirates in London and Manchester City's Etihad.

It is alleged that he "did not maintain direct, unaided visual contact with a small unmanned surveillance aircraft to monitor its flight path in relation to persons and structures for the purpose of avoiding collisions and flying a small unmanned surveillance aircraft over a congested area".

He also has seven charges for flying an unregistered aircraft.