Laser pen yob jailed
AN IDIOT who pointed a high powered laser pen at the South Yorkshire police helicopter from his bedroom window putting the crew's lives at risk has been sent to jail.
Kieron Wriggles, aged 22, aimed the green laser beam at the chopper from his bedroom window in Cliff View, Denaby.
Doncaster Crown Court heard Wriggles repeatedly targeted the aircraft as officers tried to assist their colleagues on the ground who were dealing with a break-in at a nearby shop.
The crew on board the aircraft used its in-built camera system to identify the exact window and house from which the laser was being shone.
Police officers on the ground were sent to the house and Wriggles was arrested and the laser pen seized.
Wriggles was sentenced to six months in prison by Recorder Peter Makepeace, for recklessly acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft.
He had pleaded guilty to the offence at Doncaster Magistrates Court on July 20 but the case was deeemd so serious, it was committed to the town's Crown Court for sentencing.
The incident happened on July 9.
A police spokesman said the laser pens did not affect the actual helicopter, but it put the safety of the pilot and crew at risk.
The light from the laser lit up the cockpit with a bright green light and was so strong that it dazzled the pilot causing temporary blindness, putting the helicopter crew at risk.
Following the sentencing, Supt Ian Bint condemned the act of shining lasers at the force helicopter.
He said: "The Air Operations Unit is vital in targeting criminals, keeping our communities safe and saving the lives of vulnerable people.
"These criminal acts have the potential to endanger the lives of the crew as well as the public and will not be tolerated.
"We take these attacks seriously and we will pursue and seek to prosecute anyone who commits this type of offence."
It is the latest in a series of prosecutions.
A Barnsley man was jailed for a year at Sheffield Crown Court only last month for the same offence.
And in April 2009 a 13-year-old boy was arrested after the police helicopter pilot was temporarily blinded by a laser pen while flying over Hyde Park.
He was given a final warning on the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service, as it was his first offence.
Another incident was reported in July when an airline pilot was targeted with a laser as he flew into Robin Hood Airport from Barcelona.
The jet, which was carrying holidaymakers, escaped harm when the captain notified air traffic control of the incident, which happened as he flew over Balby while coming in to land.
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Wednesday 08 February 2012
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