Scotland Yard is looking into whether it can make use of one of the more innovative policing tactics around right now: training eagles to take down drones.
Video emerged last week of police in the Netherlands testing the use of eagles to immobilise drones – and one of the people who was impressed with the footage was the Met's commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.
The Times reported on Monday that Hogan-Howe saw the clip on YouTube and "spoke enthusiastically" about the scheme at an internal management meeting, while a chief inspector was sent to the Netherlands to find out more.
Drones present a new and serious problem for the police. A drone laden with mobile phones, SIM cards, and drugs was found in the grounds of Strangeways prison in Manchester in November last year, one of several that have been intercepted on their way to prisoners across the country.
It's also illegal to fly drones in built-up areas. Nigel Wilson from Nottingham was thought to be the first person in the UK to be convicted of drone misuse in September 2015, for flying drones over Premier League football matches.
A spokesperson for the Met said: "As would be expected in an organisation that is transforming, we take an interest in all innovative new ideas and will of course be looking at the work of the Dutch police use of eagles."