£5 million police helicopter wrecked by travellers

A police helicopter has been wrecked by a group of travellers after officers used it to spy on their site, it was claimed today.

The £5 million aircraft, owned by Surrey police, was destroyed by a gang after weeks of aerial surveillance on the travellers' site, where detectives believe stolen goods have been hidden.

A police source said last night: "The gipsies were furious because they kept getting buzzed by the helicopter."

The incident happened at 10pm yesterday, when the gang leapt over a 4ft wall surrounding the force's helipad at Fairoaks airport, near Woking.

They smashed six windows and threatened staff in the operations room.

The aircraft is expected to be out of action for another two weeks while repairs are made.