Police explain why plane was circling over St Helens

Using technology from the 'flightradar24' website, a Police Air Service Plane was seen circling the area from around 7.50pm on Friday, June 14.

The plane, which had set off from Chester, circled over St Helens for around an hour, before circling over Liverpool and later landing in Nottingham.

READ > Family business that became a 'household name' call it a day after more than 40 years

The flight was organised to assist with public safety for the Taylor Swift concert in Liverpool (Image: PA)
The National Police Air Service has confirmed that the flight was circling the area in preparation for the Taylor Swift concert at Anfield Stadium.

The police plane also circled around Liverpool on Thursday evening, and is said to regularly assist with delivering public safety at large scale events.

The plane crew also helped the local police force with additional incidents, including a concern for the safety of an individual, a suspect search, and a missing person search.

The flight went onto circle around Liverpool for the Taylor Swift concert (Image: flightradar24)
A spokesperson for the National Police Air Service said: "A police aeroplane provided six hours and 22 minutes of air support on Thursday and three hours and 14 minutes on Friday.

"The benefit of the police aeroplane is that it can remain airborne for several hours without the need to refuel, making it a highly effective tool in the policing of pre-planned tasks and ongoing events, such as large public gatherings.

"During its deployment over the two days, the crew also assisted with additional police incidents in the area, including two separate reports of concern for the welfare of an individual, a suspect search and a missing person search.

"Air support is an important tactic as part of wider policing operations at large scale public events and NPAS regularly assists in delivering public safety at such events. Whilst overhead, they also have the benefit of responding immediately to emerging incidents.

"The crew has an unrivalled advantage in monitoring large gatherings and providing real-time video footage directly into police control centres, assisting police commanders in the most effective deployment of police resources for the protection of the public."