Police Aviation News June 2009

Police Aviation News June 2009 8
Various versions of the story were reported but it seems that Mr Taylor lifted off from his
home helipad in his private Agusta A119 Koala with the personalised identity N119JT and
simply stumbled upon the theft in progress as soared upwards on a business flight to Northern
Ireland. At 200 feet he noticed the gates to his yard were open and that there was a
strange white van present.
The thief quickly realised he was under observation but for two hours tried to shake off the
annoying ‘all-seeing eye’ above him. At one stage he tried to hide in a wood but Mr Taylor
simply sat there hovering over the trees for 20 minutes.
As he was flying solo a couple of calls on his satellite phone brought his mother and sister
in on the chase across the Norfolk countryside. They joined in using their cars.
The van was probably going at about 50 to 60 miles per hour but the helicopter was more
than capable of keeping up with it as he tracked the van along a circular route from Binham
to the seaside town of Wells-next-the-Sea, and then to Fakenham where it tried to lose its
self in heavy traffic.
To meet the minimum requirement of 1,500 feet over a congested area the Agusta was flying
over Fakenham at about 2,000ft – easy enough to do with the naked eye and still flying
the Agusta. But there were a lot of white vans in the town. The two women caught up with
the quarry near the town and noted the registration number down. That was to seal his fate.
Out in the countryside things were easier and the follow often went down to 500ft and keep
up the pressure. ’
The burglar eventually abandoned his van at the village of Stody and fled on foot to his
home in Briston.
Was it worth the time and trouble? Well he got £400 worth of wood back, but it cost him at
least £2,500 in fuel let alone the other DOC’s. The magistrates gave the thief only a conditional
discharge [in effect a slap on his wrist]. Fortunate, although disappointed at the lenient
outcome Taylor said it was the principle of trying to catch the thief that was important.
[Mirror/MoS]