A six-year-old girl who went missing from her home at night was found asleep in a field half a mile away by a police helicopter.

The girl was reported missing from a farm in Chittlehamholt in Devon on 7 August.

After her parents called the police, officers on the ground and in the air were deployed to try to find her.

A helicopter crew from the National Police Air Service’s South West Region was able to spot the child using their infrared camera system.

The team has shared details and a video of the rescue on its Twitter feed.

In a thread of tweets the @NPASSouthWest account said: “Here is the moment a police helicopter located a missing 6 year old child at night after every parents worst nightmare was realised.

“Missing from a farm in a rural setting at night, she was located in the pitch dark by our helicopter crew using their infra-red camera system. She was found asleep in a field, over a half a mile away from her home.

“The National Police Air Service operates from a network of 14 bases across England & Wales to support police officers on the ground and help keep our communities safe.

“In this instance, a massive team effort from the police control room, the police officers on the ground and the officers in the air to get this child home safely to her terrified parents.”

The video shows the girl in the corner of a field and then standing up, perhaps once she heard the helicopter above her.

Missing from a farm in a rural setting at night, she was located in the pitch dark by our helicopter crew using their infra-red camera system. She was found asleep in a field, over a half a mile away from her home (2 of 4)

Officers in the air then direct their colleagues on the ground to her who say “great spot NPAS, it’s a female”.

The response which comes back is “yes, yes, she’s alive and well”.

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