Watch as police helicopter tracks party-goer who dazzled pilot by shining laser pen at his cockpit - and officers on the ground go in for arrest

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A helicopter tracked a man from 1,300ft so he could be arrested after he repeatedly shone a laser pen into the eyes of a pilot, dazzling him.

Chris Vowles targeted the National Police Air Service (NPAS) while he was drinking in his garden below the plane with his friends.

The crew were left dazzled by the bright green laser and decided to track Vowles using thermal imaging cameras so that police on the ground could arrest him.

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The laser was shone at the police helicopter four times, creating a 'bloom effect', which momentarily blinded the pilot

The crew on the police helicopter used powerful thermal imaging cameras to track down Chris Vowles so officers could arrest him 

Vowles had been with friends in his garden in Birmingham when he shone the laser four times at the helicopter, which was on the way to do surveillance in the city, at about 1.15am on July 31.

Birmingham Crown Court previously heard the laser created a 'bloom effect' which momentarily blinded the pilot and could have caused serious catastrophic consequences.  

After he had dazzled the pilot Vowles then appeared to gesture up at officers and wave beer bottles in apparent celebration.

But he was foiled when the helicopter tracked him from 1,300ft (396m) and passed his location onto police who turned up 15 minutes later to arrest him. 

The thermal imaging cameras managed to pin point Vowles' precise location, so police on the ground could track him down 

Vowles tried to cover his tracks by throwing the laser pen over a fence. 

But his tactic was captured on footage from the helicopter.

Officers found the laser pen and, after he was shown the on-board footage, the 23-year-old TK Maxx worker admitted the offence acting reckless in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft.

Footage from the helicopter captures Vowles throwing the laser pen over a fence in a bid to cover his tracks 

Police arrived at his home in Birmingham and arrested Vowles, who later admitted acting reckless in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft 

At a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court he was sentenced to seven months in prison, suspended for two years and 250 hours of unpaid work. 

Judge Paul Farrer QC said: 'It was conduct that caused real danger.

'The helicopter was over a built-up area.

'That which you did plainly had the potential to lead to catastrophic results both for the occupants of the helicopter and wholly innocent members of the public below who were probably sleeping in their beds.'

Martin Knowles, West Midlands region NPAS manager, said: 'This was not accidental... it was a deliberate act. The demeanour of the people in the garden illustrates the attitude of many people - laughing and joking and believing their actions were somehow harmless fun.

'But aiming a laser pen at any aircraft, be it a police helicopter, air ambulance or commercial plane, can have disastrous consequences - it's certainly no laughing matter.

'The police take laser pen incidents very seriously - and of course it's easy for us to identify offenders as the light beam directs us straight to them, whilst high-tech on-board cameras enable us to keep tabs on them should they try to disappear.'

The National Police Air Service said shining a laser pen into the eyes of pilots can cause permanent eye damage 

Andy Shanks, a pilot with NPAS, said he'd been hit 'countless' times by laser pens during his 33 year flying career.

'When the light bounces off the screen it's like a disco-ball strobe effect in the cabin,' he said. 

'It's disorientating, makes it impossible to focus on the instrument panel and is extremely dangerous as even a momentary loss of control can be crucial.' 

He said that people targeted with laser pens can suffer eye damage.  

Vowles was also ordered to pay a £100 victim surcharge and £300 of costs.