Praise for threatened police 'eye-in-the-sky'

David Swales praised the South Yorkshire Police’s aircraft after it was used to track down two men suspected of carrying out raids on several sheds and pigeon coops at Brecks Lane allotments, Brecks, ensuring many of the victims’ belongings were returned.

But the high-praise came just as top cops revealed that they feared for the future of the region’s Sheffield-based police chopper.

Officers on board South Yorkshire Police’s helicopter spotted heat traces in woods near to the site with the help of the aircraft’s heat-seeking camera on November 10.

When their colleagues on the ground went to investigate they found a haul of gardening equipment, tools and other items that had been taken and two arrests followed.

Following the operation David Swales paid tribute to the high-tech chopper and said that it should serve as an effective deterrent for light-fingered thieves.

“Thieves should know that when that helicopter gets up into the sky, there’s no point running,” said the 66-year-old, of East Herringthorpe.

“If the helicopter hadn’t been there, and the heat of those men spotted in the woods, then me and other people from the allotments wouldn’t have stood a chance of getting their equipment back.”

David said that six or seven small buildings and pigeon coops were broken into at the allotments off Brecks Lane shortly before midnight on November 10.

Fencing was negotiated and locks were cut before items, including a petrol generator, electric tools, gardening equipment and pigeon food and medication, were taken in the raid.

David added: “As it stands we haven’t lost a great deal and the way the police dealt with this should act as a deterrent to others who think they can get away with looting people’s allotments like this.

“South Yorkshire Police’s eye in the sky is a fantastic tool.”

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police confirmed that two men had been arrested following the incident at Broom Lane allotments after their location was identified by airborne officers.

The two men have been bailed and are expected to appear at Rotherham Magistrates’ Court early next month.

David’s praise for South Yorkshire Police’s helicopter comes just weeks after the force’s chief constable, Med Hughes, expressed fears that it could be scrapped.

Last month it emerged that the Association of Chief Police Officers was working with the Government to establish a National Police Air Service-a plan that could put the Sheffield-based aircraft at risk.

Mr Hughes said: “There’s a project to turn the current system, which has over 30 independently-owned police helicopters, into a national system.

“I support the proposal in the broad terms. It’s much more effective to have a national police helicopter and fixed-wing network.

“But the plans in detail would take away the air base which we currently have at Sheffield and we would then get our service from bases in West Yorkshire, Humberside and Ripley in Derbyshire.

“I think that’s too far away.”