Sky for fireworks, not drones, at Boston July 4 concert: police

BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts State Police on Thursday said that no drones would be allowed at next week's Fourth of July Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, which typically draws hundreds of thousands of spectators to the city's Charles River waterfront.

"No private drones here," State Police Colonel Tim Alben told reporters on Thursday. "There won't be government drones here. There won't be any drones at all and the FAA takes this quite seriously."

The small unmanned aerial vehicles, often equipped with cameras, have become popular with hobbyists and amateur film-makers but pose a risk of crashes.

A New York woman was injured in December when a drone flying a sprig of mistletoe around a restaurant for a promotional event struck her in the nose.

Officials in Boston enforced a similar ban on drones at this year's Boston Marathon. Security at that race and other large events has been higher since the deadly 2013 bomb attack.

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by David Gregorio)