A STOCKPORT man who temporarily blinded a police helicopter pilot by shining a laser pen at his aircraft has been jailed for four months.
Dean Bottomley, 21, “zapped” the helicopter eight to 10 times from the bedroom window of his home, causing the captain to take emergency action, Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester heard.
The case came just 24 hours after Huddersfield man Dean Manby was cleared by Bradford Crown Court on a similar charge after an incident involving the West Yorkshire Police helicopter.
Jobless Bottomley paid £30 on eBay for the pen, which has a range of up to five miles.
Captain Mark Westwood, with two passengers aboard the Greater Manchester Police force helicopter, was flying between 800ft and 1,200ft high at night while monitoring a police operation on the ground.
But Bottomley repeatedly hit the aircraft with the laser beam leaving the pilot unable to see properly or make out the craft’s control instruments.
