A police helicopter could be seen hovering over Ipswich in the early hours of this morning searching for car thieves.

Suffolk Constabulary said the search helicopter was positioned over the Dales Road area of the town between 2.30-3am in the hunt for offenders who had fled from a stolen vehicle.

The car, a Ford Focus, had been stolen from Melton near Woodbridge earlier in the morning or late last night.

A police spokesman said the offenders had not yet been found and investigations were continuing.

The National Police Air Service (NPAS) provides air support to the 43 police forces of England and Wales from its network of 15 bases.

Suffolk’s nearest bases had been Wattisham, north of Ipswich. However, this was closed earlier this year as part of a national scheme, which saw the number of operational bases reduced by 10.

Boreham, near Chelmsford, is currently Suffolk’s closest NPAS base.