ONE night last week I was awakened in the early hours by a noise which at first I thought came from the railway, two fields and a river from where I live.

Now being wide awake, I listened and realised it was a helicopter. It was around 3am. It seemed to head towards the Rawcliffe Lake, Clifton Backies area.

A couple of days later there was a report in The Press (“Arrest after helicopter manhunt”) which told about an incident of a man arrested in Kingsway North after prolonged hedge-hopping.

Can someone please tell me how it is justified to launch a helicopter with all its expense at a time of severe police funding cutbacks to apprehend a garden-hopper?

There are no stately homes where major thefts could have occurred.

Who is responsible for spending tax payers’ money in such a seemingly irresponsible way?

I await a satisfactory explanation.

Jacqueline Hart, Bowness Drive, York