Severn Trent is using a team of drones to assist in identifying leaks from the sky.

The initiative, deployed to detect leaks more quickly, benefits both customers and wildlife.

The fleet of flying machines is operated by pilots Duncan Turner and Jonny Bevan who also photograph and map company sites such as reservoirs and treatment works.

<hr>

Read more: Live updates after A4440 police incident near St Johns

<hr>

Equipped with thermal imaging, the latest drones can detect drops in temperature on the land below, which could indicate a potential subterranean water leak.

Additionally, they are frequently used at live leak sites to quickly determine the resources or repairs required.

Drone lead Mr Turner, 42, who has worked for Severn Trent for 13 years, said: "The company was very supportive of the idea and we quickly saw the value the drones could have on the business in the first year.

“The offset costs of just using drones instead of scaffolding to look at one of our digesters, for instance, creates enormous time and cost savings."

As part of their commitment to reduce leakage by 15% by 2025, and halve the water lost through their network by 2045, Severn Trent has recognised the role drones could play in achieving these objectives by spotting leaks or sending live or recorded updates to an incident team back at the Coventry headquarters.

The operations require one of the team to fly the drone, while the other uses the attached camera.

Mr Turner added: "In urban areas we can use the drones to map out bursts very quickly and relay back pictures and video to an incident room.

"They can then make very quick decisions on what equipment needs to be sent."

Jonny Bevan, 35, drone safety officer, said: "Trying to identify a leak on a pipeline that is say 6km long may have taken some time for our teams on the ground to find before.

"But we can reduce that to a few hours with the drones.

“If we can find these leaks faster and deal with them quicker, that make things better for customers.”

The machines have covered most Severn Trent sites, including those across Worcestershire and the West MIdlands.