A St Kilda mother has complained to the Civil Aviation Authority after she says her children were filmed by a drone while playing in their backyard.

Jodie Smither said she was prepared to shoot the drone down with her air rifle if it returned.

Ms Smither said her 11-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter were playing outside about 6pm last Thursday when she heard buzzing.

She saw a ``creamy-coloured thing that looked like a spider'' hovering about a metre above the backyard of her Jackson St property.

As soon as she appeared the drone flew off, leaving her children ``terrified''.

Ms Smither said her daughter had told her, ``Mum, it's an alien coming to get us,'' and had been unable to sleep on Thursday night.

Her son was familiar with drones, having earlier researched them, and was concerned as he understood some models provided a live video feed back to the operator, MsSmither said.

He had asked, ``What if it's someone who's not a nice person?''

Ms Smither had since lodged a complaint with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

She said she would attempt to shoot the drone or throw something at it if it returned to the airspace above her home.

A CAA spokeswoman confirmed it was illegal in most cases to fly a drone over a homeowner's property without the permission of the property owner.

She said the CAA was following up Ms Smither's complaint, but cautioned against people taking matters into their own hands and shooting down a drone.

``We would strongly advise against this as they could be charged with endangering an aircraft, which is a serious offence.''

Ms Smither was not the only St Kilda mother to report allegedly inappropriate drone usage the same night.

Richardson St resident Audrey Ross described a similar incident about 5.45pm as her 3-year-old son played outside

However, this time it was a black quadcopter (a drone with four rotors).

She had also gone outside to investigate after hearing a buzzing noise, before she looked straight up and saw a drone directly above her.

The unmanned aerial vehicle had also flown off as soon as she spotted it.

The incident had been ``really upsetting'' and she hoped it was ``just kids'' flying the drone, and not someone with sinister intentions.

``Even if it's just kids playing around being silly, they need to learn that it's not appropriate,'' Mrs Ross said.

She was now hesitant about allowing her son to play outside.

``We've got quite a private backyard and this has taken that privacy away.''

Rules on drones

Operators must:

, Get consent from anyone or any property owner you want to fly your drone above.

, Only fly in daylight.

, Keep the aircraft within physical line of sight

, Fly below 120m unless you have obtained prior approval from Air Traffic Control.

, Knowwhat airspace restrictions apply in your area (a map for planning drone flights is available at airshare.co.nz/maps).

, Obtain permission from Airways Corporation NZ before flying in controlled airspace.

, Do not fly closer than 4km to any airport or airfield.

, The Dunedin City Council allows drone flying on some of its parks and recreation areas without prior approval.

, Flights are not permitted where ‘‘booked land use’’ is taking place

(e.g. sports games), or at the botanicgarden, playgrounds, roads, cemeteries, dog parks or facilities such as landfills. Contact the council for more information.

If you are concerned

, Note as much information as possible, e.g. the direction the drone came from and where it is heading.

, Call the CAA’s safety line 0508 472-338 or email isi@caa.govt.nz. Source: Civil Aviation Authority