Curfew for teenager who shone laser pen at police helicopter
A teenager who shone a laser
pen at a police helicopter put the lives of the crew and public at
risk, magistrates have been told.
The 17-year-old from Hersden
pleaded guilty to endangering the safety of an aircraft following
the incident in the village last month when the chopper
was helping search for a man believed to have been injured in
an accident.
The boy, who cannot be named for
legal reasons, was sentenced at Canterbury Youth Court on
January 15 to a Youth Rehabilitation Order, including a three-month
curfew. He was also ordered to pay costs of £40 and a £15 victim
surcharge.
Russ Woolford, base manager at the
Air Support Unit, said: "Shining a laser at an aircraft causes
significant danger to not only the crew on board, but the public
below. It is a criminal offence and it could have fatal
consequences.
"Due to the equipment on board, the
crew were able to trace the offender’s exact location and used the
aircraft video camera to record the incident.
"Shining a laser at an aircraft is a serious incident and we
will continue to prosecute anyone carrying out this offence."
24/01/13
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