Cranbourne drone attacks: Families fear for their lives in drone attacks
Two families are under relentless attack from drones, with frozen water balloons, paint and even padlocks being dropped on their properties.
South East
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Two households in Melbourne’s south east are being terrorised by a sustained campaign of attack by drone, with frozen water balloons, paint and padlocks being dropped onto roofs and decking, causing damage.
Cranbourne neighbours Mark Stevens and Geoff Davey said the airborne attacks started four weeks ago, starting with frozen water balloons.
“At first we just thought it was some kids playing a prank with water balloons,” Mr Stevens said.
“But they dropped enamel paint onto my solar panels, and a padlock that has smashed through the laserlight above my deck before denting the wood panels on the floor.
“You could take a hammer to the wood on my deck and you would struggle to dent it, so it must have been falling at a pretty rapid pace.”
He said the attacks had now escalated to the point he feared for his family’s safety.
“I was almost hit with the 300g padlock,” he said.
“It fell really forcefully. If I had been under it, it would have killed me.”
Mr Davey’s property has also sustained damage from the drone.
“We had seen the drone before, but we didn’t realise it had dropped anything until recently,’’ he said.
“We’ve had heavy rain, and we started getting a wet spot in our kitchen ceiling.
“My son went onto the roof to investigate and found the balloons with metal objects attached.”
Neither Mr Stevens nor Mr Davey know who was responsible for the attacks.
“We have no idea who could be doing this,” Mr Davey said.
“I’ve lived here for 34 years and haven’t had anything like this happen before.”
While the drone only appears to be dropping items onto Mr Davey and Mr Stevens’ homes, other neighbours have seen it.
“One of the ladies who lives down our street has seen it before, and thought it was looking through her windows,” Mr Davey said.
“We’ve seen it too. It’s watched us in the spa one night when we’ve had friends over, but we didn’t think much of it. It was more annoying and loud than anything.”
“Sometimes I can hear it from inside the house. It appears to watch us at different times of the day, so it definitely is raising my anxiety,” Mr Stevens said.
Both Mr Davey and Mr Stevens have reported the incidents to police and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
A spokesperson from CASA said all drones, flown recreationally and commercially, were legally required to be within eyesite of the person controlling the machine.
According to the CASA website, fines range from $1110 and $11,100 if an operator is summoned to court, and up to $26,640 and/or two years in prison if the drone is a hazard to another aircraft.
Police are investigating the matter.
Anyone who has experienced a similar incident or with information is urged to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.