BUSINESS is on the rise for a former helicopter pilot instructor whose company teaches people how to fly drones safely.

As Thames Valley Police revealed that 31 incidents involving drones had been reported to the force in the past two years, former RAF Benson instructor Matt Williams said his company Aerial Motion Pictures, based at Howbery Park near Wallingford, was in demand.

The firm is offering a range of commercial drone licensing courses as well as aerial filming, photography and retail services for companies, including flood plain surveys for the Environment Agency.

Father-of-one Mr Williams, 31, and wife Natalie, 27, have established Aerial Motion Pictures Ltd, one of the UK’s first companies providing practical knowledge needed for full Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Commercial UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) certification to fly a drone.

Mr Williams was a helicopter instructor with the RAF for 13 years, rising to the rank of Flight Lieutenant, before he left last year to concentrate on the business.

The firm provides commercial licensing courses training to individuals and companies to use drones, and sells drones to the public as well as businesses.

Mr Williams said: “As a training outfit we have been going for about 12 months and we are now running commercial licensing courses every week. We have just finished a course that had 17 people on it, with courses starting from £1,500.

“The training is to protect people and property. Drones might look like toys but there is a lot of energy involved in a collision if one falls from 30ft.

“The spinning blades rotate at up to 8,000 rpm (revolutions per minute). They could cut your fingers off quite easily, “People throw these drones up in their back gardens and fly them around but drones should not be operated within 150 metres of a congested area.

“It’s important that people have the right kind of education before they operate a drone. I wouldn’t want one of them getting in the way of a flight path from RAF Benson.

“We want to do everything we can to improve flight safety awareness.”

Aerial Motion Pictures sells drones starting from £500 up to £30,000.

Commercial licensing courses can take as little as three days and start from £1,500.

Mr Williams added: “By the end of the year about 300 people will have completed commercial licensing courses and the number of enquiries is growing every day.”

Thames Valley Police would not provide details about the drone reports but none of the incidents between April 2013 and March this year were recorded as crimes.

* For details visit aerialmotionpictures.co.uk