Police helicopter bids final farewell

The county no longer has its own dedicated police helicopter after the base was closed due to cost-cutting measures.
Lancashire no longer has its own dedicated police helicopter.Lancashire no longer has its own dedicated police helicopter.
Lancashire no longer has its own dedicated police helicopter.

The base at Warton near Preston closed permanently on March 20, meaning helicopter cover will be coming from Manchester.

On the Save the Police Helicopter Base page it said: “The base has operated for 23 years, and G-LASU arrived in October 2002, replacing the original G-LCON. G-LASU as a registration will also disappear and we are told by those in the know that it will undergo a mid life service upgrade at Gloucester and reappear as G-POLG..”

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Chief Superintendent Tyron Joyce, Chief Operating Officer for the National Police Air Service said: “In 2014 NPAS was required to make significant savings. We will continue to maintain essential air support but at a significantly reduced cost to the public.

“An additional base is also currently being built at NPAS Doncaster. This base will be able to house a fleet of four fixed-wing aeroplanes, the first of which will be operational in August 2017 and all four will be fully operational by early 2018.

“This development will extend the service to the 43 police forces across England and Wales and allow us to better respond to the changing demands for our service.”