A 62-year-old Cotswolds man has been cleared of shining a laser beam at a police helicopter after telling a court that he thought the chopper was a UFO!

Timothy Wilsdon, of Station Road, Blockley, near Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos, pleaded not guilty to  dazzling the police pilot with the laser on Nov 13th 2020 and maintained he was suffering from a medical condition which made him delusional.

He told district judge Nicholas Wattam at Cirencester Courthouse he thought the helicopter "was some sort of an alien craft."

District Judge Wattam described Mr Wilsdon's behaviour as 'illogical, nonsensical and dangerous' but acquitted him of the charge because there was 'clear medical opinion that Mr Wilsdon was suffering from a cognitive impairment at the time.'

In evidence, Mr Wilsdon said he had often seen military aircraft flying over his home village towards the RAF Fairford base in the Cotswolds but the helicopter that night appeared to be "something out of the ordinary."

“I thought the object in the sky was some sort of an alien craft," he told the court. "It sounded like a Spitfire diving to the ground having been shot down.

“The light coming from it resembled a disco strobe light that penetrated my blackout blinds at home and I saw it change colours.

“I thought that whatever it was in the sky was strange. I’d not experienced anything like this before. I may have shone the laser a number of times at the helicopter but at the time I didn’t know what it was, I was trying to work out what it was.

“I have a strong affinity with unidentified flying objects. I now feel embarrassed talking about this now.”

Prosecutor Graham Dono told the court that the National Police Air Service helicopter had been called out by Gloucestershire Police to the Blockley area on an unrelated matter during the early hours of that Friday morning, November 13, 2020, and it was hovering over the village at around 3am as the crew relayed information to a team on the ground.

“At 3.40am the pilot, Bryn Parker, who was flying with two officers from West Yorkshire Police, began positioning the helicopter in the required location when he saw a bright green laser beam light enter the cockpit through the port side windows," said the prosecutor.

"This dazzling light stayed illuminated in the cockpit for around five seconds. Two members of the crew immediately identified that they were being targeted by a laser beam while the third crew member was able to pinpoint where the beam originated from.

“The helicopter crew knew it was a laser beam from their previous experiences. The pilot’s vision was affected by the bright light and as the helicopter moved to position the laser beam followed it around and again the beam illuminated the cockpit.

“The second beam lasted for about ten seconds. The crew were able to use the on-board camera equipment to locate the source and the tactical flight officer was able to relay this information to the officers on the ground."

The court was told that officers went to a block of flats where the beam came from and knocked on Mr Wilsdon's door.

He was naked when he answered the door and he handed over the laser pen from his bedroom. He got himself dressed before he was arrested.

“Mr Wilsdon told the police that he was responsible for shining the laser beam in the night sky as he didn’t know what was making all the noise above him," said the prosecutor.

“He gave an account in an interview in which he explained that he had been woken up by a noise outside and he thought the vehicle in the sky was about to crash. So he shined the laser beam to try and work out what it was.

“He said that he had previously used the laser pen to entertain the cats outside as they would chase after the beam.”

PC Adrian Cole from the Gloucestershire Constabulary dog unit told the court he was the officer who knocked on Mr Wilsdon's door at 3.50am.

"The male occupant appeared hesitant to answer," said the officer. "When he did he was naked and I told him to get dressed.

"I explained that I was conducting enquires into reports that a laser beam had been directed at a police helicopter from his window. Mr Wilsdon replied that he didn’t know what it was and he didn’t know that was an offence.

"He offered his apologies and handed over the laser pen. He was then arrested and taken into police custody.”

Mr Wilsdon later told the police “I was woken up and heard this noise and felt it was on top of my house. After 10 minutes I thought it was going to crash because it sounded like the engine was cutting in and out. I panicked about this.

“All I could see was these lights moving about in the sky and a whirring sound that kept cutting out. But whatever it was I thought it was going to crash. The lights kept changing colour.

“I had a laser pen and used it like a torch to try and identify what it was up there. I thought it was a UFO because of the coloured lights coming from it.

“I thought it was something from out of space and it was an alien vehicle because it was making so much noise.

“It was quiet and very still for periods of time until the whirring began again. I couldn’t stop following it with the laser until it went away. I thought it could be a bright star if it wasn't a UFO.

“It felt as if it were diving and making a terrible noise, just like wounded planes sounded like in war-time films as they dived out of control to the ground. In my mind I thought it was something alien.

“I didn’t know it was a helicopter as I thought it was a UFO which was about to crash. Had I known it was an aircraft I would not have shined a laser beam at it.”

The court was told that Mr Wilsdon has previous had mental health issues and had been a patient at Wotton Lawn Psychiatric Hospital in Gloucester following his daughter’s suicide nine years ago.

The court also heard that Mr Wilsdon’s son had died at the age of 19, just prior to the laser beam incident, and he had seen a psychiatrist and other medical practitioners.

He was diagnosed with hemochromatosis which causes cognitive problems that had reportedly made him delusional because his normal thinking processes had been affected.

Psychiatrist Dr John Pilgram told the court: “At the time of the incident, Mr Wilsdon was suffering jointly from a depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, this diagnosis would not have had a direct bearing on his behaviour that day.

“Mr Wilsdon would more likely have been suffering from cognitive impairment due to the deficiency of B12 in his blood.

“Having heard his police interview, which was conducted within hours of the incident, there was striking evidence of some confusion being displayed by Mr Wilsdon.

“Additionally, his reluctance to put some clothes on when police came to arrest him at home, would have added to his confusion. "

Pilot Bryn Parker told the court: “I have been a helicopter pilot since 2008. Over my flying career I have been attacked on numerous occasions by a laser beam.

“The beam gets diffused as it hits the windscreen and bathes the cockpit in bright light, which is especially hazardous when flying during the hours of darkness.

“As I was positioning the aircraft in pursuit of two burglary suspects in the Moreton-in-Marsh area, I saw a sparkle of green light enter the cockpit. I knew instantly it was a laser beam because of its extreme brightness and dazzling effects.

"I manoeuvred the helicopter so that we could identify the location from which the beam had come and we relayed the information to those on the ground. As the aircraft moved about so did the laser beam that was following us.”

Vanessa Pople, defending Mr Wilsdon, said: “Quite clearly he is not a well man and has been diagnosed with a number of medical issues.

“I feel he has a reasonable excuse for shining or directing the laser beam towards the police helicopter. He did not know what it was.

“He gave a full account in interview and in court today that at the time he did not know it was a helicopter.

“He had the courage to explain what he thought it was – a UFO, an alien aircraft or something like that. He has a history of similar delusions and paranoia, which is confirmed by the medical evidence.”

District Judge Wattam told Mr Wilsdon: “It is not in dispute that during the early hours of November 13, 2020 a police helicopter was tracking would be burglars over the village of Blockley, near Moreton-in-Marsh, but you struck the aircraft with a laser beam three of four times.

"This is an extremely dangerous thing to be doing. However, you have relied on the defence of having a reasonable excuse for shining the laser beam towards this helicopter."

The judge continued "Mr Wilsdon states that at the time of the offence he was medically unwell and he argues that this qualifies him as not being guilty of the offence. This court is in possession of Dr Pilgrim’s report, along with three letters from his doctor.

“I remind myself it is the prosecution’s duty to prove the offence beyond any reasonable doubt. Mr Wilsdon has a physiological problem which may cause cognitive problems, not least because he has deficiencies in his blood. He was not receiving treatment at the time due to the pandemic.

“I don’t want to make too much of what Mr Wilsdon did, but I accept that his behaviour was not logical. In fact, it was clearly illogical, nonsensical and dangerous.

“But the fact is that there is a clear medical opinion that Mr Wilsdon was suffering from a cognitive impairment at the time.  

“However, the prosecution has not called upon any medical experts to rebut that medical opinion and that being the case it is open to Mr Wilsdon to rely on the statutory defence of reasonableness based on his medical condition."

District Judge Wattam turned to Mr Wilsdon and said: "With that being the case I find you not guilty.”