Incredible pictures: See police identify laser pen offender from 1,300ft in the air

Chris Vowles, of Tipton, was drinking with friends in the back garden of a house in Eatesbrook Road, Kitts Green, when he shone the laser beam into the helicopter on July 31.

The crew were temporarily disorientated as the green light bounced through the cabin - and when they used powerful thermal imaging cameras to locate the laser source 1,300ft below them, they homed in on Vowles laughing and drinking with friends, who then held bottles up to the camera.

However, their bravado was abruptly punctured when colleagues on the ground - directed to the group from above - gatecrashed the party and arrested the 23-year-old shop worker on suspicion of 'acting recklessly in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft'.

Vowles was shown on the camera, which is able to pick up appearance and clothing details from 2,000ft, tossing the pen into a neighbour's garden in a bid to distance himself from the laser.

It was quickly recovered and when Vowles, from Highfield Road in Tipton, was shown the on-board camera footage, he was left with little choice but to admit the offence.

He appeared at Birmingham Crown Court today and was sentenced to seven months suspended for two years and 250 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £100 victim's surcharge and £300 costs, after admitting endangering an aircraft.

National Police Air Service (NPAS) senior pilot Andy Shanks said he'd been hit 'countless' times by laser pens during a 33-year flying career.

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

"In a worst case scenario crew members struck in the eye can suffer eye damage - that happened recently to an observation officer in Ripley who suffered retina damage after being hit with the laser whilst looking through binoculars."

The helicopter was heading to Birmingham on a thermal imaging surveillance mission when it was struck by the laser beam several times at around 1.15am.

But just 15 minutes later a response team arrived at the property and as the seriousness of the incident struck Vowles, he hurled the laser pen over a fence.

West Midlands region NPAS manager Martin Knowles, 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.

"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."