A video showing a man shining a laser at the police helicopter as it hovered above Northamptonshire has been released by the police.
The force has also revealed that last year it recorded 33 incidents involving lasers being used to dazzle people in the county.
Seven were green lasers aimed at aircraft pilots and the rest involved red or green lasers being used to dazzle motorists or being shone at members of the public.
The footage released by the police shows an incident in October where a laser was shone at the police helicopter while officers were searching for a missing child.
Officer Rak Nathwani, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: “Every time someone shines a laser at an aircraft they’re risking the safety of the people on that aircraft as well as others on the ground, the consequences of their actions could be catastrophic.”
Green lasers are not illegal and are sometime used by astronomers to point out stars, but they can have a huge impact on motorists and aircraft pilots by causing distraction or leading to permanent eye damage.
It is an offence for someone to shine a light at an aircraft in flight which dazzles or distracts the pilot or endangers the safety of an aircraft.
The incident featured in the police video saw a 24-year-old man appear in court charged with shining a light at an aircraft.
He pleaded guilty and was fined £250 along with £85 costs and a £25 victim surcharge.
The impact of the laser was so bad the helicopter almost had to stop the search for the child.
However, police officers on the ground identified the property where the laser was shining from with the assistance of the air crew and the helicopter continued the search for the missing child, who was found a short time later.