The caper occurred in the village of Capel, and the kids, who ranged in age from six to 12 years old, showed initiative that “proved to be invaluable,” said NPAS Sergeant Paul Sochon, according to news.com.au.
“I’m sure the last thing the group of daring Capel residents expected when they set out Friday afternoon was to abandon their Easter egg hunt to assist us in a police search.”
Surrey police had called in the helicopter after receiving a report of intruders at an unoccupied building, the Guardian reports.
At first, the police helicopter’s presence was entertaining for the kids and parents, but it wasn’t long before they realized a police pursuit was going on, said a police spokesman.
So the kids immediately formed an arrow on the ground, smack in the middle of a ploughed field, pointing the helicopter in the direction of the fleeing suspects, the spokesman said. The helicopter crew relayed the information to police on the ground, and within a short while the two men were arrested.
The action taken by the parents and their kids was like something out of an Enid Blyton adventure, Sochon said, adding that “their ingenuity proved a great help for our crews,” The Telegraph reports.
“As a thank you for their efforts, the NPAS crew landed nearby to thank the children for the role they played in the incident and they even shared a few chocolate treats with the team, which was an added bonus after a busy shift.”
The two men, 28 and 27 years old respectively, were arrested on suspicion of burglary and have been released on bail until May 13 pending additional inquiries.
The helicopter recorded the incident and the footage was released on April 1, but this was no April Fool’s joke, police said.
