Nude sunbather sues UK police $350k after helicopter filmed her in garden

Tracy Dixon has issued a writ claiming police invaded her privacy and caused her distress. Photo / via ITV

A nude sunbather is suing police for £200,000 ($357,000) after an officer was jailed for using a force helicopter to film her in her garden.

Tracy Dixon has issued a writ claiming police invaded her privacy and caused her distress by refusing to reveal full details of how often she had been spied on, the Daily Mail reported.

The action comes after former constable Adrian Pogmore, 53, was jailed for a year in 2017.

Dixon noticed the helicopter three to four times a week over a period of three years. Photo / 123RF

He admitted four charges of misconduct in public office by using the South Yorkshire Police helicopter for "sexual spying" with a high-powered camera capable of reading a number plate from two miles away. Pogmore, who was described as "sex obsessed" and was a member of a swingers' club, also filmed Dixon's three daughters, who were aged 18, 15 and eight at the time.

Sentencing him at Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Peter Kelson QC said: "You quite literally considered yourself above the law. You used a £2 million helicopter, which costs something like £1000 an hour to run, to advance your sexual curiosities."

Two police pilots and two police observers were cleared of helping Pogmore make the films, but one officer, PC Lee Walls, still faces disciplinary proceedings. The force has admitted liability for the actions of Pogmore on August 23, 2007, but denies he filmed the family on other occasions.

Dixon, 54, of Rotherham, claims the policeman regularly flew over her garden. Footage shown to her by police revealed the camera focusing on her genital area.

Dixon, who sunbathed naked to avoid tan marks when she worked as a glamour model, noticed the helicopter three to four times a week over a period of three years.

Dixon says South Yorkshire Police failed to offer her a full personal apology. Photo / via ITV

Speaking after Pogmore's conviction, she said: "Home was where I felt safe. The only thing that disturbed us was the yellow and black police helicopter."

Dixon says South Yorkshire Police failed to offer her a full personal apology. The force says it will offer her a full written apology but argues that she has given interviews and wants her to list all contact she has had with the media and details of payments and commercial benefits.