THERE was no pursuit or even a police search but there were a whole lot of smiles from kids when PolAir touched down in Tamworth yesterday.
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The police helicopter caused a bit of confusion amongst locals when it landed in Bicentennial Park but it was the kids scrambling to get close.
On route from a stop at Lake Keepit, the officers thought they could put a few more smiles on dials with a quick pit stop in the centre of town.
“We had a display up there with Camp Quality and the kids with cancer and we spent about an hour there,” Senior Constable Chris Tegart from the Police Aviation Support Branch said.
“They all jumped through the aircraft and we had a bit of a talk, then we departed and landed here on the oval just to get a bit of interaction with the kids here.
“We don’t normally come to the regional areas, so we try and spend a bit of time when we do get out here.”
There were a couple of selfies and plenty of pictures as locals and children alike clambered for the unusual visitor in the park.
And it’s this sight that make the job worthwhile for officers.
“Yeah it does, especially the kids with cancer. Obviously they’re going through a hard time in their lives so if we can put a smile on their face then that’s good,” Senior Constable Tegart said.
“We tell them where we’re based and what we do, the parts of the helicopter and how people call us and how we help them. Living in Tamworth you don’t get to see a police helicopter that much, so we do try and land in these places for kids to experience that stuff.”
After a quick bite to eat in town and a fuel stop at the airport, Polair took off for Sydney with windy conditions making for a quick trip home.