The BBC is tonight reporting that Norfolk Police will stop using their leased Eurocopter AS355F2 Twin Squirrel at the end of the current fiscal year – 31st March 2011 – and that it is trying to buy a block of 220 hours a year from neighbouring force Suffolk Police.  The vicarious benefit in doing this is that Suffolk flies a very new and highly equipped Ec135P2+, the specification of which puts Norfolk’s 1983-build Twin Squirrel in the shade.  The cost saving is said to be £750K ($1.2M) a year.

Norfolk lease their AS355 from Sterling Aviation of Norwich, who also operate two BK117s for the local Anglia Air Ambulance.