Send in the drones! Eyes in the skies watching over the West Midlands

And hundreds could soon be whizzing over our heads as online retail giant Amazon looks to deliver parcels to your home by the unmanned aircraft.

The phenomenon of the airborne devices has been huge.

Wolverhampton-based Stone's Throw Media were among the first to latch on to the craze.

Founders Mike Chinn and Matt Weston spent £15,000 on a drone and the required training and now use it as part of their film-making service.

Mr Chinn said: "The first I saw of it was about two years ago and I was watching a clip on YouTube and it was showing the outside of a building in LA and then you went in through a window. I thought, how did they do that?

"It went on to show them using a drone.

"The manufacturers were releasing a newer version and I mentioned it to Matt and said I thought it could be big.

"We were really ahead of the game. It took us a year to get the funding in place and we bought it."

The sales of drones are now in their thousands, from professional ones costing tens of thousands of pounds to small units sold for £20 in toy shops.

At first, the Stone's Throw Media team thought the drone would be a standalone service, but say it has now become a key tool to their film-making.

Mr Chinn said: "It's become a tool like a microphone or a steady-cam. We use it in all sorts of filming.

"At first we thought there would only be interest to use it on its own but now we incorporate it in a lot of our work.

"It has sparked huge interest and we have had inquiries from people who want to come in and see what it is like and what it does. The customer may not then use the drone but come to us for other work so it has had a really positive impact on the business."

Because the drone is used commercially, Mr Chinn has undergone training with the Civil Aviation Authority.

Mr Chinn, who pilots the drone, said: "When I first used it, it was pretty scary but the training is tough and I have now used the drone in 40mph winds, flown it over the sea, and in hurricane conditions.

"Checking the kit is essential. It is an aircraft and you have to treat it like so."

Traditionally unmanned aircraft have only been used by model aircraft enthusiasts for recreational purposes.

But with the rise of large drones used for film, surveillance and data-gathering, the Civil Aviation Agency and the Information Commissioner now have a role in regulating their use.

In January 2010, the Civil Aviation Authority introduced new regulations that require drone surveillance and data operators to obtain permission before commencing a flight within a congested area or in proximity to people or property.

Despite concerns of a breach of privacy, Mr Chinn says he has nothing but interest from passers-by.

"They all love it," he said.

"We have people come up with us and taking photographs of it and asking questions.

"We recently were filming in Devon and had a group of 50 people around us.

"Everyone is intrigued by it and are really interested to know how it works."

Amazon's plan for parcel delivery services may still be a long way off, but drones are already being used by the emergency services in the West Midlands and Staffordshire.

West Midlands Fire Service has a drone which it calls its Incident Support Imaging System used to provide live video footage and high definition stills pictures.

Andy Cashmore, emergency response at the fire service, said: "It is used to provide live video footage and high definition pictures from above an incident scene, gathering vital information to aid the emergency response and tactical decision making processes of the incident commander.

"The aircraft is a high endurance, quadrocopter design with vertical take off and landing capabilities from battery powered rotors.

"It can be fitted with either a high resolution video camera or a high resolution stills camera, as well as a thermal imaging camera. In addition, the system has a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) capability, which means that once a suitable location for observation has been identified it will hover in that location automatically.

"It is intended that it will be used in emergency situations to gather imaging data which will be used by the incident commander to inform their decision making processes and to provide information for debrief purposes."

Staffordshire Police also owns a drone which it has used at big events such as V Festival but also during rural crime investigations.

Inspector Paul Barker, from Staffordshire Police's Tactical Planning Unit, said: "Staffordshire Police do possess a 'drone', or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

"It has a limited flight capability and can operate in various scenarios using different payloads including a thermal camera.

"It has been used, and is available to use, in the search for missing persons, to search hazardous environments for people and objects and it can record still and video images for evidential purposes. The UAV can be requested to support any police activity/operation at any time."

The hi-tech aerial camera, which is just two feet wide, is able to fly 800ft into the air.

It has been used on Cannock Chase while tracking down criminals who go hunting at the beauty spot.

Images are then sent in real-time back to a screen viewed by police officers on the ground, who are then able to locate the hunters who have no idea they are being tracked.

Police and crime commissioner for the force, Matthew Ellis, says the £20,000 machine could save police a 'phenomenal' amount of money across the country.

The device has already been used to catch two men from Stoke-On-Trent who were discovered on Cannock Chase with a deer carcass in their van.

"It's a fairly small, high-tech device which can take stills and video footage," said Mr Ellis.

"It's almost entirely silent and certainly could be heard when it's in the air. It can't be heard from more than 50ft away.

"When it was used in the poachers incident, it pinpointed their whereabouts to the officers viewing a screen on the ground allowing the police to go directly to them without them knowing.

"The drone replaces a police helicopter in certain circumstances – and is far cheaper, as it runs on batteries."

As for drones delivering milk in the morning, pharmaceutical orders, and packages from Amazon, Mr Chinn thinks that is some time off.

"It is a bit of a gimmick at the moment," he said.

"The battery life is nowhere near long enough as yet.

"But maybe in 10 years it could be possible."