A schoolboy has appeared in court over shining a laser pen at pilots in Lancashire Police’s force helicopter as they hunted suspected car thieves.
The 14-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, bought the pen on e-Bay for £4, Preston Youth Court heard.
A few days after he received it, on August 1 this year, pilots on a police operation noticed a light being continually shone at the aircraft.
They traced the address, using an on board camera, to a house in Ribbleton, Preston, where the boy had been shining his new toy out of his bedroom window at the back of the house.
Defending him, solicitor John Didsbury said he had not just been shining the laser pen at the pilots, he had been shining it “all around” the area.
The court accepted the youngster had not known the strength of the laser but said it was “potentially very dangerous”.
He was sentenced to a six month youth referral order and a one month curfew.