Man dazzles pilot by shining laser pen at police helicopter

A man was caught on video shining a laser pen at a police helicopter, dazzling the pilot.

Footage shows the beam being shone into the cockpit before the offender is detained in Walsall.

The chopper was assisting with a vehicle stop on Tuesday, 17 January.

The culprit is now facing up to five years in jail for endangering an aircraft.

"The impact on a pilot is, at the very least, distracting, but can be serious enough to cause temporary 'flash' blindness and, in some cases, lasting eye damage," head of NPAS flight operations Captain Paul Watts said.

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