Drone owners in the UK must register their aircraft with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) before the end of November or risk heavy fines under a new scheme.

Axar.az reports citing Inews that pilots are required to pass a theory test to obtain a flyer ID before any drone weighing between 250g and 20kg can be flown, while the person responsible for it must register for an operator ID and display it clearly on the drone.

Both children and adults are required to pass the online theory test before flying a drone, while operator IDs will only be granted to people aged 18 and over.

Failure to register, which costs £9, may incur penalty fines of up to £1,000, the CAA warned.

A benefit of registration is free access to Drones Reunited, a free service designed to reunite drone owners who've already registered with their missing machines, it claimed.

Owners who have lost their drone will be encouraged to post their details and operator number to the Drones Reunited website in the hope someone will report it as found.

Authorities can also search premises linked to an investigation where an offence has been committed and a warrant secured and issue fixed-penalty notices of up to £100 to owners who refuse to comply with police instructions to land their drone or fail to produce documentation to prove their ownership.