The eye in the sky employed by police forces in the North East has chalked up 4,000 flying hours since coming into service in 1999.

The figure is among the highest flying hours clocked by a police helicopter in the world, and is believed to be the most by a UK force craft.

The North East Air Support Unit (Neasu) craft, an EC135 Eurocopter, is based at Newcastle Airport.

It is used by the Northumbria, Cleveland and Durham forces, and serves an area with a population of 2.6m people.

'Extremely reliable'

Between entering service on 1 April, 1999 and reaching 4,000 hours it has responded to 11,607 tasks, been involved in 1,883 arrests, and the recovery of �1,432,851 worth of property.

The Eurocopter replaced the blue and white Squirrel helicopter, and works in tandem with the Islander plane, which is based at Teesside Airport.

Nigel Dunnill, who manages the day-to-day operations of the unit, said: " The helicopter is a first class machine and has been extremely reliable."

The Eurocopter is on 24-hour cover, has a top speed of 150mph and boasts a range of high-tech equipment including a searchlight capable of illuminating an incident scene.

It also has a thermal imager which can identify body heat from hundreds of yards, and a mapping system which can focus down to house level.

'Minimise disruption'

The Neasu helps with searches and escorts, carries out surveillance of major incidents or disorder, and provides aerial photographs and video.

It can also transport specialist units or casualties in need of urgent medical help. Each aircraft is crewed by a pilot and two police officers, trained as air observers.

Chief Superintendent Bob Pattison, of Northumbria Police's Operational Support Department, said: "We are, of course, conscious of the effect flying above residential areas has on the general public and we always aim to minimise the disruption.

"However, we only fly and hover above areas when there is a need to and as technology improves it is hoped the height and distance can increase without effecting the efficiency."