Drones are being deployed to patrol tourist resorts in Spain.
The move comes in response to fears of terror attacks, but the drones are capable of monitoring much more.
Benidorm (pictured above in all its glory) was the first resort to experiment with the security drones. Since the very beginning of July this year, four trained police officers have been in charge of the unmanned light aircraft and any suspicious activity they pick up.
Mayor Antonio Perez said: “The use of drones has been incorporated in policing in Benidorm to aid surveillance and emergency situations”.
Use of police drones has been expanded to include beach resorts in Asturias, Andalusia, Murcia, Cantabria and Valencia.
The drones can also detect smoke columns which could alert authorities to forest fires.
Already last summer, a number of Spanish beaches were monitored by lifeguard drones used to spot swimmers or vessels in trouble. The drones have rubber floats to settle onto the water and can reach drowning swimmers three times faster than their human rescuers.
The initiative was designed to prevent some of the estimated 400 cases of drowning which take place every year off Spanish beaches.
The drones can remain airborne for 28 minutes, reaching speeds of 70 km/ h at heights of up to 500 meters.
The government has maintained a terror threat of 4 out of a possible 5, but the presence of armed police has been stepped up this year at tourist sites and seafronts.
