The East Midlands Air Support Unit, based near Welford, launched the new helicopter on Monday and it is hoped its integrated equipments will enhance the work of the three police forces it supports.

The new craft, a Eurocopter EC135, has improved safety features for the pilots, improved day and thermal imaging cameras and the cameras can be linked into mapping systems to give precise locations.

The helicopter also has links to the automatic number plate recognition database and can pick out uninsured, untaxed or cars without MOTs, as it flies to and from jobs making better use of its time in the air.

The air unit supports the police in Leicestershire and Warwickshire, as well as Northamptonshire.

The new craft cost £4.3 million and was paid for by selling the old helicopter to the Cayman Island Police and Home Office cash grants of approximately £560,000 for each of the three forces.

Chief Superintendent Garry Forsyth from Leicestershire Constabulary is chairman of the Air Support Unit Policy Group.

He said: "Over the 13 years of its operation, the air support unit has proven to be a very efficient and cost effective resource in operational policing.

"It is particularly effective in searching for missing and vulnerable people, and its capability to transmit its camera pictures back to police control rooms enables senior officers to make sound decisions at serious incidents."

Between April 2001 and the end of March this year, the old helicopter attended 1,523 incidents in Northammptonshire, catching 186 offenders and helping in a further 78 arrests, and assisted in finding 101 missing people.