A thief accused of stealing a ‘substantial’ amount of meat was caught after a police helicopter chase.

The police from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, used a helicopter to scour nearby gardens to find the fleeing thief.

However, at a cost of £1,000 for the use of the helicopter and police time, many people think that it was a waste of money.

Fiona McEvoy, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: “Using a helicopter is a very costly option that should be reserved for serious incidents where members of the public are at real risk. It's quite unbelievable that one was scrambled to track a meat thief.”

Hertfordshire Police defended their decision by saying using the helicopter saved them time.

“Within 15 minutes of the arrival of the helicopter, the crew had directed officers on the ground to a resident's back garden and the suspect was arrested.

“Although helicopters are expensive to run - in the region of £800 an hour - they easily cover their costs by saving thousands of pounds in man-hours.

"After the man was arrested, officers involved in the search were released from the incident, enabling them to attend other calls,” said a spokesperson.