Wiltshire Air Ambulance warning after laser attack (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Wiltshire Air Ambulance warning after laser attack

11:24am Monday 4th March 2013 in News By Lewis Cowen

Wiltshire Air Ambulance crew members are warning of the dangers of shining laser pens into the sky when one was shone towards the helicopter.

The combined Wiltshire Police helicopter and air ambulance was coming into land at its base at police headquarters in London Road, Devizes, when a pen was shone towards the cockpit.

The laser did not hit the helicopter and the pilot was able to land safely.
The incident happened as the helicopter was returning from flying a woman injured in a road accident near Calne to Great Western Hospital, Swindon, in the early hours of last Thursday.

The helicopter was at about 500 feet over Devizes when the laser was shone towards it. The pilot circled around to see if the crew could locate the laser but they were unable to.

Air ambulance paramedic Matthew Baskerville, who was on board the helicopter, said: “It is extremely dangerous and illegal to shine these pens at any aviation vehicle. The lives of the crew and the patients are put at risk as we are unable to see where to land.

“Wiltshire is very lucky to have the only dedicated air ambulance in the UK able to fly at night. This type of incident makes our work almost impossible and we ask everyone to be careful not to do this.”