BBC Verify narrows Attleborough air ambulance laser incident site

The BBC has used geo-location software to pinpoint the precise part of a town where a laser was deliberately shone at an air ambulance.

The beam was seen at 02:30 GMT on 27 December in Attleborough, Norfolk.

The East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) said there had been six other incidents in the town since 2021, but this was the first to be caught on camera.

BBC Verify used Google Earth to mirror the footage and tracked it to behind the Church Street/Queens Road junction.

While the BBC's analysis showed the approximate location, it does not mean the perpetrator lived there and they could have been walking past.

Police have launched an investigation in to all seven incidents as it is illegal to deliberately shine a laser at an aircraft.

Capt Seb Powderham flew the helicopter on 27 December and told the BBC that he treated the incident as an attack on the aircraft itself.

"The windows on the aircraft are made of acrylic glass so it refracts around the cockpit," he said.

"And if shone directly at the aircraft it will get rid of all your night vision, it will potentially endanger the aircraft and we might have to update our landing options and potentially cancel the job altogether."

People who lived nearby were shocked when shown the footage.

Hayley Dunnett described the person responsible as "despicable".

"They're out to do a job, to save people's lives and that's putting that in jeopardy. I think they need to be caught and punished," she said.

Another resident, Dudley Buckle, said: "It would be good if you could catch them.

"I think people do it to be clever or think they're clever, they don't know how much danger they are causing."

When the video was released last week, PC Dion Phillips, from Norfolk Police, said all seven incidents had occurred overnight, often in the early hours of the morning.

"We've looked into every incident and haven't been able to identify the person responsible which is why we're appealing to the local community and people living it Attleborough to share any information with us," he said.

The force said it did not want to comment on the latest development.

Deliberately shining a laser at an aircraft is a criminal offence under the Laser Misuse (Vehicles) Act of 2018.

Anyone found guilty can be given an unlimited fine or face up to five years in jail.

The Civil Aviation Authority said the number of incidents decreased when the pandemic started but then leapt from 536 in 2021 to 1,045 in 2022 - the last year for which figures are available.

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830