the only successful prison break using a helicopter in the UK was more than 20 years ago when two inmates were sprung from Gartree Prison, in Leicestershire.
That was in December 1987.
A B206 was hijacked by an armed man and used to spring the two prisoners. Gartree was a high security prison in those days - but the authorities hadn't anticipated escape by helicopter.
Following this incident, wires were installed across the open areas of high security prisons.
The pilot of the B206 was
Uncle Ian of
'Age Discrimination' fame.
The helicopter was on the ground for only 20-25 seconds and the prisoners disembarked about 5 minutes flying time away and made good their escape by road.
Two prisoners escaped - John Kendall, serving 10 years for organising a series of high value commercial burglaries and another serving life for murder. Both were eventually recaptured.
I can't now remember if that was Kendall's first or second escape. He was also sprung from a prison van while being transferred by road from Parkhurst prison on the Isle of Wight to another prison on the mainland.
I represented one of Kendall's gang in their trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court and remember it well for 2 reasons.
Firstly, the gang had used an extremely simple and almost comical - but very effective - method to steal large quantities of high value goods (mainly alcohol and tobacco products) from cash & carry warehouses in night time burglaries all over the South East. They had a long run, until an underworld informant tipped off the police who laid in wait for them at their next job.
Secondly, the evidence against the man I represented wasn't very strong to begin with and, after cross-examination, was even weaker. He was said to have run off when the police sprang their trap. Things looked very promising for my client, who vehemently protested his innocence - until an elderly lady who'd seen a man escaping from the police gave evidence.
She had given a description of the man to the police (said by the prosecution to be of my defendant) and repeated it in court but it could have fitted half the under-25 males in the country. All continued to go well, until she added that she remembered he was wearing an unusual sweater with a very distinctive geometric pattern, and described it, including the colours.
I noticed a couple of jurors looking towards the dock and smirking, then whispering to other jurors who in turn all looked at the dock and smirked. Then another barrister passed me a note telling me to look behind to the dock.
I didn't need to - I'd already worked out what I'd see if I did!
FL