'Immature and daft' 41-year-old bloke committed 'extremely dangerous act' at 3am while chatting to his girlfriend

A man who dazzled the pilot of a police helicopter with a laser pen whilst speaking to his girlfriend over the phone has been jailed for nine months.

David Warren, 41, pointed the device out of a window during a 3am phone call with his partner, then shone the beam into the helicopter's cockpit as officers were searching for a missing person, a court was told.

Despite being dazzled, the pilot was able to steer the aircraft and police trained their cameras on the source of the beam. Warren was subsequently arrested at his home. He was told his actions 'could have put many lives in danger'.

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When quizzed, Warren said he had originally used the laser to play with his dog and said he had been 'daft and immature'. But inquiries revealed just eight days before last month's incident, he was given a suspended prison sentence after he got drunk and threatened a man with a hammer, the court heard.

At Warrington magistrates court, Warren pleaded guilty to shining a laser at an aircraft and being in breach of a suspended jail sentence. He was jailed for a total of 35 weeks. The court was told the missing person, who was unconnected to Warren, was located.

Nassem Noureddine, prosecuting, said: "On August 27 at 2.45am, the National Police Air Service was on patrol in a helicopter looking for a missing person in the Latchford and Stockton Heath area of Warrington.

"At approximately 3.15am Mr Warren was shining a laser, pointed from his window, at the helicopter, distracting the officers on the aircraft looking for the missing person.

"Given the cameras, the aircraft was able to locate Mr Warren's address. Officers attended the address where he initially refused entry. There was a forced entry. He was arrested when the laser was seized."

The prosecutor said that in 2008, a defendant was given six months imprisonment for a similar offence, but he had been charged under different legislation. Warren, of Latchford in Warrington, Cheshire, was given 23 weeks jail suspended for 12 months on August 19 for threatening a person with an offensive weapon in a public place.

In mitigation, Warren's lawyer Gary Heaven said his client had obtained the laser two years ago and had used it to play with his dog. However, he said he had not had the dog for seven months after it was taken from him.

"On this particular night he has been engaged in conversation over the phone with his girlfriend,'' added Mr Heaven. ''At some point during the course of the conversation he had picked up the pen and he had pointed it out of the window having heard the helicopter. He has waved it.

"What much is clear and what reflects perhaps slightly more positively is that when spoken to by the police in interview, it became abundantly clear that he had not given a moment's thought about the potential consequences.

"It is not a good thing but it is not the case for instance as often happens you are dealing with people who committed reckless acts without caring. It is clear that this was a lack of forethought and a lack of insight into the potential hazard that he created by doing this. To have committed this offence is a daft and immature thing to do, and something that needs to be dealt with. I would like to suggest that at least Mr Warren would have an opportunity to deal with his underlying issues.''

But JP Andrew Brothers told Warren: "This was an extremely dangerous act that you carried out on this day. It could have put many lives in danger. We feel that a custodial sentence is the only option available to us."