Man sentenced for shining laser at police plane

A man who shone a laser at a police plane airborne during an operation linked to a road rage incident in Telford has been given a 12-month conditional discharge.

Reed Beers, 60, of Old Office Road, Dawley, appeared at Telford Magistrates' Court and admitted dazzling or distracting a pilot.

The offence happened on 10 March as the National Police Air Service (NPAS) provided support to officers investigating reports of a man with a suspected firearm after a road rage incident on Mossey Green Way in Ketley Bank.

At 19:52 GMT the pilot of a fixed-wing NPAS plane reported a green laser being directed at the aircraft.

The plane had been sent from Nottingham and spent nearly an hour circling Telford while officers searched the area on the ground.

The crew pinpointed the source of the beam to an address on Old Office Road. When officers arrived, Beers answered the door and said he was alone in the property before being arrested.

During interview he said he had been aiming a red laser fitted to an air rifle at a drone while trying to take a photograph from his bedroom window. He told officers he had checked the flight-tracking app Flight Radar and believed no aircraft were nearby.

Police said no photographs had been taken that evening.

Beers initially denied owning a green laser but a further search uncovered two green laser pens hidden in the property.

Beers was charged the next day.

Det Insp Paul Drury said the incident could have had "truly serious consequences".

"Shining a laser at any aircraft is inherently dangerous but doing so while it is supporting officers during an active incident places both the crew and the public at even greater risk," he said.

"Today's sentencing reflects the gravity of his actions and I hope it sends a clear message that endangering an aircraft will be met with firm and decisive justice."

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