THE GATWICK Grinch that forced the closure of Britain's second busiest airport just days before Christmas has still not been caught – as it's revealed there have been 109 drone sightings by experts.

Blundering cops had previously admitted there “may never have been a drone” at the airport and they STILL have no idea who was behind the chaos.

Around 140,000 people were left facing delayed or cancelled flights after dozens of sightings of a drone forced the closure of Britain’s second busiest airport just days before Christmas.

Sussex cops came under fire for arresting a local couple – then saying there may not have been a drone in the first place.

They later retracted the statement and Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, said police had "not handled their communication response well.”

109 SIGHTINGS FROM EXPERTS

We can now reveal there were 109 sightings from “professional eye witnesses familiar with or working within the airport operating environment”.

That brings the total eye witness accounts of an illegal drone, or drones, at Gatwick between December 19 and December 21 to 130.

But cops still don't know who was responsible for bringing the airport to a standstill.

A spokesman for Sussex Police told the Sun Online: “The illegal drone incursions on this occasion were unprecedented, unpredictable and sustained and happened at times of the day making it difficult for the existing technology to track and identify.

“We continue our criminal investigation, which is challenging in its scale and in the type and quality of evidence immediately available.

“Despite a reward of £50,000 for public information leading police to the person or persons responsible, we have not received the critical information that we believed exists within the community.

“There were at times more than 50 officers and support staff working on the case with support, as required, at a national level.

"This has reduced as the investigation progressed to a level deemed appropriate to manage outstanding enquiries.”

3 MILE 'DRONE EXCLUSION ZONE'

The news comes as it was revealed Britain will slap a three-mile “drone exclusion zone” around major airports from March 13.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling will announce new legislation to extend the ‘no fly zone’ to ban drones and model aircraft from coming close to runways.

Anyone caught doing so faces a sliding scale of sanctions – from fines to life imprisonment if they endanger life.

It comes as the Home Office confirms a new Bill will be laid later this year to give police powers to stop and search drone users – and access electronic data stored on the hi-tech device.

The Government is separately preparing to announce a partnership with high street chain Jessops to inform people about the need to “fly their drones safely”.

Ministers were humiliated before Christmas when a drone ruined the travel plans of tens of thousands at Gatwick.

The airport said it had spent £5m on technology to prevent a repeat of such attacks.

Heathrow began talks to install a £10 million drone detection system in January following the debacle.

It was also forced to cancel flights after New Year when a drone was spotted within the airport perimeter.

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In a statement last night, Mr Grayling said: “The law is clear that flying a drone near an airport is a serious criminal act. We’re now going further and extending the no-fly zone to help keep our airports secure and our skies safe.

“Anyone flying their drone within the vicinity of an airport should know they are not only acting irresponsibly, but criminally, and could face imprisonment.”

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