FROM whence, and by whom, came the drone? It emerged, of course, as a military weapon in the Middle East and Afghanistan. But who invented it?

We all know that the bouncing bomb was invented by Barnes Wallis, while Christopher Cockerell gave us the hovercraft. Unlike these, the drone looks destined to be commonplace in everyday life. Yet its origins seem a mystery. It simply appeared.

Now, in this New Year, it has provided the first example – or at any rate the first spotted by me – of a misplaced April Fool news item. These occur year round, and what distinguishes them from a genuine April Fool piece is not simply that they don’t appear on April 1. More crucially, they simply couldn’t be made up.

Amazon, itself now ubiquitous in British daily life, has done the trick by revealing its intention to establish huge warehouses in the sky, from which drones will swoop down to make deliveries. Amazon dubs these warehouses “airborne fulfilment centres”, which will be suspended from giant airships. There you are: I said you couldn’t make it up.

Generally, the warehouses will float at around 45,000ft, apparently ideal for serving a large conurbation. But smaller areas, say a market town, could have a warehouse positioned at just 2,000ft. Easily visible from the ground, this would offer what Amazon trumpets as an advantage beyond mere quicker delivery: it could display advertising.

I’m reminded – obliquely I’ll grant you – of John Betjeman. Dismayed by suburban sprawl on a clifftop he turned seawards: “At least they can’t build on the sea,” he reflected. But that was before windfarms. Now, it seems, we can look forward to structures in the air, with drones flying to and fro. So much more appealing than swallows, wouldn’t you agree?

According to a report, Amazon is testing the technology in the UK because here it “benefits by more liberal regulations”. Indeed – and as if to prove we are still in April Fool territory, these have just been slackened specially for Amazon. Contrary to general ‘drone’ rules, the Civil Aviation Authority is allowing Amazon drones to be flown in suburbs and rural areas out of sight of their controller, who will also be permitted to handle more than one drone at a time. Slipped through unnoticed these concessions could become controversial if an accident occurs.

Drones doubtless have valuable uses. They can save time and money in surveying buildings and in farming. They are life savers in mountain rescues. Amazon says its aerial warehouses will cut road congestion and speed-up delivery. But is either gain – or both – worth littering our skies with man-made objects? If we want to create hell on earth this is the way to go about it.

Drones also pose a serious threat to privacy, and it is certain that terrorists will start using them - thus consigning the suicide vest, or the hijacked-lorry attack, to history. There are those who say that for this reason alone drones should be completely banned. It is hard to disagree with them.

NEW Year’s Eve: Stock Exchange at record high. Trade figures showed an extra £15 billion of foreign investment since Brexit, with 35,000 jobs pledged by global companies. Remoaners – what sayest thou?