The National Police Air Service (NPAS) has denied deliberately drawing a phallic-like shape in the sky above Fleet, Hampshire, via a helicopter's flight path.
Gordon Bird, 53, said he was woken up on Monday night by a loud chopper flying overhead as it made multiple circles around the area for about 15 minutes.
The 53-year-old, who lives in Ancells Farm, Hampshire, said his two-year-old daughter was woken up by the aircraft. Bird added he was shocked after checking the tracking data of the helicopter's journey online and saw the penis-like outline.
NPAS Response
However, the National Police Air Service (NPAS) have stated the image was not intentionally created.
Speaking to the BBC, NPAS said the chopper crew had been "orbiting the locations they were directed to as part of the search for a vehicle that had failed to stop for police."
Tracking data revealed the chopper made the main part of the outline above Blackbushe Airport before circling over Ancells Farm. The helicopter then returned back to its base in Redhill.
Resident's Account
Speaking about the ordeal Bird said: "I happened to have my computer on, I hadn't gone to bed, so I just looked it up on the tracking.
"The actual buzzing around our estate lasted for 15 or 20 minutes, the actual drawing of the phallus... took about half an hour, and the overall flight, as per flight radar type websites, show it as being an hour."
He added: "I'm not angry, I am upset at the waste of resources."
Operational Justification
The NPAS helps provide aerial support to police forces in both England and Wales.
In an email to Bird, NPAS said it understood the "frustration" of having his young daughter "disrupted" by the airborne activity and it was "unfortunate that the flight path shown on public tracking apps resembles a particular shape".
Speaking to the BBC the service said on the night in question the crew had been conducting checks of "specific roads, junctions and areas identified by officers on the ground".
The service added flights "do not follow defined or predetermined flight plans as they, by their very nature, are dynamic and respond to ever changing, and unpredictable, circumstances on the ground".
"The flight was conducted for a legitimate policing purpose, in support of Thames Valley Police," it added.
