A man was arrested after a drone stopped play at Huddersfield Town’s friendly clash with Liverpool.

Midway through the second half of Town’s 2-0 defeat a drone buzzed over the stands at the John Smith’s Stadium.

As the device hovered over the pitch all eyes turned skywards. After a short time referee David Coote stopped play as safety chiefs and match officials consulted on the touchline.

Police were alerted and a man was arrested in nearby Town Avenue and the drone seized. Play resumed after about five minutes.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: “The referee took the decision to briefly stop the match on grounds of safety after the drone was seen approximately an hour into the game.

“Police officers were quickly deployed to the immediate area. The pilot was identified and the drone recovered.

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“A 38-year-old man from Huddersfield was arrested on suspicion of flying a small unmanned aircraft with a mass of over 7kg at a height of more than 400ft.

“This a breach of civil aviation regulations. He has been bailed pending further enquiries.”

Drones are known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and used to be limited to the military.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has drawn up rules on drones under what is called an Air Navigation Order.

Huddersfield Town v Liverpool pre season friendly - drone above the pitch.

The rules state that: A UAV fitted with a camera must not be flown within 150m (492ft) of a congested area or large group of people, such as a sporting event or concert; must always be flown at least 50m (164ft) away from a person, vehicle, building or structure; and must never be flown out of the normal line of sight of the operator.

To operate commercially ‘pilots’ must have permission to fly from the CAA.

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