Incredible drone footage shows moment lost Nottinghamshire boy was found

A huge search was launched after a youngster vanished from his home at 8pm on Saturday night.

A police drone which detects infrared radiation was used to scour the area near where the boy went missing.

The device – normally used to monitor crowds at football games – picked the boy out from almost a mile away after detecting his body heat.

On board footage shows the drone flying over a pitch black park and picking out the figure of the missing boy – who appeared to be wandering around in circles.

Just over one hour after police scrambled the drone, the boy was reunited with his relieved family in Oxton, Nottinghamshire.

Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Barber, of Nottinghamshire Police said: “In the short time that the team have been in the sky, they have proved to be invaluable in supporting officers on the ground and the drones are now a vital part of operational policing in our county, where it genuinely is making a difference each and every day.

“This incident is yet another success story for the team and, in this case, it has given us the edge in helping to locate someone who we had genuine concerns for the safety of much sooner than had we been relying solely on traditional search techniques.”

The drone team was launched in January this year as a collaboration between Nottinghamshire Police and Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service