Police are investigating after a laser pen was shone at the Wiltshire Air Ambulance helicopter as it flew over Allington, near Chippenham, on Saturday evening.

The crew of the helicopter were furious at the dangerous action which could have put their lives in danger.

Police were alerted by Wiltshire Air Ambulance staff at 10.25pm and immediately sent a patrol car to the area but were unable to find out who was responsible.

A police spokesman said: “If anyone has any information on this we would urge them to come forward.

"It is very irresponsible and dangerous to use laser pens in this way and the crew could have been endangered.”

@WiltsAirAmbu tweeted: “Once again to the idiots who decided to laser us while on approach to landing back at Devizes you have no idea how dangerous this is.”

And a posting on the air ambulance Facebook page reads: “An open message to the person who thought it would be good to shine a laser at us while on approach to base, you have no idea how dangerous this is and we hope that the police unit finds you.”

This is the latest in a number of incidents of laser pens being shone at the helicopter.

After a previous attack paramedic Matthew Baskerville, who was on board, 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.”

The latest incident happened as the helicopter returned from helping at an accident at Corsham in which a man in his 40s was trapped in his car after it collided with another vehicle at Chequers Hill.

In March this year, a Trowbridge man was fined by magistrates for shining a light at the Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

In June, police concerned about youths in Calne using laser pens spoke to an 18-year-old. After a CCTV picture was issued the man visited Calne Police Station to speak to officers, where he was given advice on the dangers of using a laser pen and it was destroyed.

In September a boy aged seven is thought to have shone a laser pen into the cockpit of an Airbus jet, heading to Bristol Airport, while playing in his garden in Calne.

Anyone with information can contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously.