THE Wiltshire Police helicopter and Air Ambulance, which was grounded for five days due to a defect, is flying again.

The police and ambulance service used an older machine while the helicopter was grounded.

The defect, a crack in one of the flexbeams attached to the rotor blades, was noticed during a routine service on the evening of May 29.

The helicopter was grounded until the faulty part could be replaced.

The manufacturers provided an older style Bolkow helicopter for the police and ambulance service to use in the meantime.

The Wiltshire Police and Air Ambulance service originally had a Bolkow helicopter but it was replaced with the Explorer in 1998.

The Explorer was grounded longer than normal because the spare part, which came from Arizona, America, was held up at Stansted Airport.

The Wiltshire force was the first British police force to use the American manufactured Explorer helicopter.

The disadvantages of the Bolkow are that it is considerably noisier than the Explorer and due to its smaller size is unable to carry as much fuel as the Explorer.

The Bolkow was in use from May 30 until June 4 while the Explorer was grounded.

The Bolkow was used in the search for missing woman Joan Appleton in Devizes on the evening of June 3 and residents living near Caen Hill Locks said the helicopter was noisy.

Mike Evans, executive officer at the Wiltshire Police Air Support Unit, said: "The Bolkow is considerably noisier than the Explorer helicopter.

"It operates with a completely different system. It has a tail rotor which is where a lot of the noise comes from.

"We very much regret any residents being disturbed by the Bolkow helicopter.

"On the occasion when we were searching for the missing woman in Devizes it was necessary for us to use the helicopter to try to find her.

"We used thermal imaging and although we could illuminate the scene we couldn't get lower down because it was pitch black and so we had to talk to ground units.

"We use the helicopter and Air Ambulance when it is necessary. We do balance the need of using it with the disturbance it causes."

Mr Evans said the spare part was dispatched by air from America the day after the defect had been noticed.

It was expected to arrive at police headquarters in Devizes on Saturday May 31 but did not get there until Tuesday June 3.

Usually parts are supplied from the manufacturer's European depot in Belgium but the depot had run out of the spare part Wiltshire police required.