CUTTING edge technology will mean criminals in Swindon can be spotted from more than two miles away, thanks to an £850,000 refit of Wiltshire Police’s helicopter.

The helicopter, which has not been used since October, is now back in action with a state of the art camera system.

Police observer Kevin Reed, who has been part of the helicopter team for seven years, said: “Before, with the old camera, we would only be able to see the outlines of people, now we can see the stitching in their clothing.”

The camera will enable the crew at 2,000 ft to see people two-and-a- half miles away and has both daytime cameras and night-time thermal imaging cameras.

The upgrade also includes a new Tetra radio system.

It is expected the camera system will not only benefit the police in their hunt for criminals but also help paramedics, who use it as the Air Ambulance, looking for vulnerable missing people and the injured.

The upgrade, which is deemed essential, was paid for by Wiltshire Police and the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal.

The appeal paid about £220,000 towards the camera, and around £18,000 towards the radio system which cost £50,000.

The 10-year-old helicopter, which is one of only two in the country to be shared by a police force and air ambulance team, went to the Police Aviation Service at Staverton Airfield, Gloucestershire, in October to have the new Flir Star Safire camera fitted to the front of the MD902 helicopter.

The Air Operations Unit, at Wiltshire Police headquarters in Devizes has been using an older Bulkoe helicopter in the meantime, which only flies during the day. It was supplied by the Police Aviation Service which owns both helicopters.

Both police officers and paramedics who are based at the unit have been training to use the new system.

Team leader paramedic Richard Miller said: “The speed to find a location or address is much quicker, so whereas before we may have been hovering overhead looking for an address, the camera can now zoom in and find that straight away, saving time and getting to the patient faster.

“Without a doubt we could save more lives.”

Pilot George Lawrence said: “The new equipment will increase the safety of the aircraft.

“It makes the pilot’s life easier as we used to have to get fairly low if we were checking number plates. We had to reach the limitation of what you were allowed to do.

“Now we can see things a lot more clearly from higher and further away.”

He added that the helicopter will be quieter because it no longer needs to go so low during searches.