Dawn scramble over Totland as police “investigate incident”

Hampshire Police scrambled the National Police Air Service helicopter and zeroed in to an operation in the Totland area this morning (Saturday).

Residents in the Totland-Freshwater borders area were woken as they first heard – then spotted – the chopper hovering just a few hundred feet above their homes at first light.

The helicopter, reportedly spotted above Ryde a short while earlier, flew across the breadth of the Island and remained virtually static in the skies above The Avenue – the main thoroughfare linking Totland and Freshwater – for at least half an hour.

Callers to the police were told the Hampshire Constabulary were “dealing with an incident” but no further details were immediataely aviailable. As dawn broke, the helicopter finally departed at approximately 6.35am.