CHOPPER IN CHASE ARREST

Police air unit uses thermal camera to help apprehend man after crashes

A POLICE helicopter snared a suspect after a series of alleged hit and runs in a town with the aid of a state-of-the art camera.

A dramatic picture released by Police Scotland shows the moment a man was apprehended after he was hunted down from the skies.

He was nabbed by the chopper cops who were using a thermal imaging camera during the chase near Kilwinning, Ayrshire

The incidents were initially reported at 7.40pm on Tuesday and involved a car colliding with a parked vehicle on Dalry Road. It was then involved in an incident with another vehicle on the B780.

Nobody was hurt, however the male driver was reported as hitting other cars before allegedly fleeing the scene.

The police air unit was called in and the crew used their hi-tech camera to quickly track down the suspect and alert officers on the ground.

An image shows a marked police vehicle alongside a van while three figures appear to be in conversation.

A man was arrested in connection with road traffic offences

A Police Scotland Air Unit statement said: “We assisted Police Scotland

North Ayrshire with tracing a driver who made off after a series of alleged hit and runs.

“The driver was arrested nearby after a search using our thermal imaging camera.”

Thermal imaging cameras can show body heat, helping police to trace people even in the dead of night and are used by forces and militaries around the world.

The camera converts infrared data into an electronic image that shows the apparent surface temperature of the object being measured.

Scottish police have access to the equipment on both helicopters and drones, which are based out of Inverness, Aberdeen and Glasgow.

Last October, thermal cameras helped locate two missing children who had became lost and stranded in a forest.

The youngsters became disorientated in an area of woodland between Shotts and Fauldhouse in Lanarkshire and were traced from the air by helicopter.

Their location was relayed to officers on the ground who found the kids and returned them to their families.

After a series of alleged hit and runs, we assisted POLICE SCOTLAND

AIR UNIT STATEMENT