South Yorkshire police charged for helicopter used to film couples' alfresco sex

Four men, including current and former police officers, are due to stand trial accused of using the camera on a police helicopter to spy on people having sex. Serving South Yorkshire Police officers Matthew Lucas, 41, and Lee Walls, 46, as well former South Yorkshire officer Adrian Pogmore, 50, and Matthew Loosemore, 44, a South Yorkshire police pilot who transferred from the National Police Air Service in 2013, appeared Sheffield Crown Court to deny accusations of misconduct in public office.

A fifth man, retired police pilot Malcolm Reeves, 63, also faces a similar charge but was excused from appearing in court due to a pre-booked holiday. He is due to appear alongside his fellow defendants at a preliminary hearing in July.

The men were arrested as part of an investigation into claims the police helicopter camera was being misused. Their charges related to allegations the camera was being used to film naked people and couples engaging in sexual acts in four alleged incidents between 2007 and 2012.

Pogmore, faces four charges, including misconduct, "namely to observe and record a naked person without her knowledge and consent" and misconduct amounting to "misusing police resources for purposes that were not connected to your employment − namely to observe and record persons performing sexual acts".

Lucas is accused of three counts of misconduct in public office, with Walls and Loosemore facing one count of the same charge and Reeves, two. The suspects were told they will face trial on the accusations they used a police helicopter to film naked people or couple's having sex in July 2017.

Following their arrest, both Lucas and Walls were suspended from duty pending the result of the court proceedings.