Air unit loss 'will cost lives'

Lives will be lost if plans to scrap an airborne crime-fighting unit go ahead, a police chief has warned.

The North East Air Support Unit (NEASU) has helicopters at Newcastle and Durham Tees Valley airports, shared by Durham Northumbria and Cleveland police.

The Northumbria and Durham forces want to reduce the unit to one Tyneside-based aircraft to save money.

Cleveland Police Authority chair Dave McLuckie said it would be a tragedy if Teesside lost one of the aircraft.

The authority said the helicopter was used to ferry road accident victims to hospital.

Mr McLuckie said: "On a night time the air ambulance cannot fly. So if the air ambulance is required in an emergency, it is actually the police helicopter that does that work.

Operational needs

"So far this year we have saved the lives of five people late at night when conventional emergency services would not have arrived in time.

"So clearly it does a lot more than just deal with crime, it actually acts as an air ambulance in the hours of darkness.

"I simply cannot understand why the other two forces have taken this decision."

Last month Northumbria's chief constable Mike Craik, said: "We must ensure that we are providing the most effective and efficient support for frontline policing.

"While we will always ensure that we provide effective helicopter support to frontline policing, there is clearly no longer an operational need for two helicopters.

"The fact that they stand idle for 85% of the time clearly indicates that there are more effective ways of providing this important frontline resource."

Durham's assistant chief constable, Michael Banks added: "This decision has been taken purely on operational grounds. We have reviewed our use of the police helicopter over recent years and the operational needs of Durham Constabulary can be met by one aircraft."