Police use helicopter to track man who took kindling from nature reserve

A police force which followed a father-of-two in a helicopter after he took some kindling from a nature reserve has been criticised for wasting public money. Gareth Pope was suspected of theft so officers scrambled the force chopper – at £1,000 pounds an hour – to track him down and follow him back to his home. The 41-year-old was out with his wife and five-year-old twins and had collected six bags of wood from the floor.

After being questioned by police officers on his doorstep in Stratton Road, Princes Risborough, Bucks., they realised he had not committed any offence. A warden at the Chinnor Hill Nature Reserve had accused the father of "stealing" from the park. Fuming Mr Pope said he was stunned to find the helicopter overhead when he got home.



"It is outrageous – talk about the police wasting our money," he said. "This is so trivial – I was just out with my children and wife. I told the warden he could call the police. To me the biggest issue was they called a police helicopter out. When I saw it I thought, 'No, surely not.' It stayed there – this is a residential place in Risborough."

The warden had a "heated confrontation" with sales director Mr Pope who was with his wife Kirsty and five-year-old twins Kali and Aspen. He refused to return the twigs – so the warden dialled 999 and police dispatched air support unit on Monday afternoon. A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said the helicopter was sent because it could get to the scene more quickly than officers on the ground.