February 2, 2014updated 03 Feb 2014 3:07pm

Telegraph photographer uses home-made drone to inspect flood damage

Telegraph photographer Lewis Whyld used his home-built aerial drone to ensure nobody was trapped in a submerged car.

The photographer travelled to Somerset yesterday on his day off to test his drone photography system which he previously deployed in the Philippines and to cover the High Speed 2 rail route.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Whyld said: "It was my day off, so I travelled to Somerset to film the floods with my drone, as I thought it would be an interesting way to document the damage.

"I saw the car but couldn't get to it, so I used my drone camera to check there were no people trapped inside. Fortunately it was empty."

Speaking to Press Gazette last year, Whyld said it will soon be possible to use a drone that can fly up to 20 miles away from its handler to get footage from dangerous areas.

According to Whyld, he shot the footage while on a day off to train for his commercial drone licence from the Civil Aviation Authority.

Whyld, who is also a trained barrister, was a finalist at last year's British Journalism Awards in the innovation category for his 360 degree camera.