Police aeroplane Sheffield: Officers reveal why police plane was circling city's skies

Police called in air support on Friday night, after they launched a hunt for a stolen car in the city.

The National Police Air Service sent one of its aeroplanes to the scene, which was seen in the skies from areas including Crookes and Hillsborough, on Friday night.

Today, South Yorkshire Police explained that the aircraft, which was in the air for just under 40 minutes on the mission, had been called in to find a suspected stolen car which had been spotted.

The air service said it was called out at 8.11pm on Friday, and sent a plane from its base at East Midlands Airport to the Sheffield area to support South Yorkshire Police in the search for a suspect vehicle.

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South Yorkshire Police confirmed that they had been searching for a car.

They said in a statement: “We requested NPAS to lift following an ANPR activation of stolen car, believed to be on cloned plates in the area.

“Officers sighted the car and an area search began, but unfortunately it was not sighted again.”