IT looks like a very large goldfish bowl with a couple of rotary blades pinned to its roof and some snow skis stuck to its underside, but this was Britain's first police helicopter.
In fact, Durham boasted the country's first "heli-cop".
He was light years ahead of his time, but he was brought down to earth with a bang by cost-cutting.
A peer into a packet of pictures marked "police" in The Northern Echo archive reveals that in 1962, under Chief Constable Alec Muir, Durham was selected to trial the first police helicopter – a yellow Brantly, made in the US, which touched down at the force's Aycliffe headquarters on November 5.
The machine was owned by Heliconair of Darlington, which was run by Alistair Craig – businessman brother of Butterflies actress Wendy. It was piloted by Dick Dorman, a Canadian, who would be accompanied in the air by Sgt George Jack Blair – the man The Northern Echo described as "Britain's first heli-cop".
The Durham Advertiser's sister paper said: "After having his first look at the inside of the machine, Sgt Blair eased his lanky six-foot frame from the cockpit and said: 'It's just fine.'"
The helicopter was connected to the Aycliffe police headquarters and patrol cars by radio, but it had no other gizmos such as searchlights or thermal imaging cameras. Indeed, Sgt Blair was armed only with a 35mm camera and a pair of binoculars.
The helicopter flew operationally two days a week – Thursdays and Fridays – and the rest of the time it hovered over the region's main roads.
In those days, before the cheque or internet banking, most transactions were done in cash, causing vast sums of money to be transported in road or rail vehicles which, as the Great Train Robbers had proved, were extremely vulnerable. The helicopter watched over the cash vans – Mr Muir called it the "airborne bank guard patrol" – and in the four years of its trial, there were no vehicle robberies in Durham or North Yorkshire.
The cost of the helicopter – £17 10s an hour – was shared by the Home Office and Durham Constabulary.
Perhaps because of its success and its cheapness – it worked out the same as running two patrol cars – the Home Office employed a chopper to police the growing M6 on the west of the country. This, though, proved so expensive that the Home Office had to switch its money from the Durham trial to pay for it.
So in 1964, Durham was grounded. Only when the force could find a few extra shillings could the helicopter take to the skies.
Mr Muir thought it would be good to invest in some flying time for January 16, 1967, when Home Secretary Roy Jenkins came north to lay the foundation stone for the new police headquarters at Aykley Heads. As he was helicoptered from Teesside Airport to Durham, Mr Muir arranged some in-flight entertainment: Mr Jenkins' helicopter was involved in a dummy bank job, and gave chase to a hijacked security van along the A689.
Having landed, Mr Jenkins told The Northern Echo that the helicopter was "an operational tool that may have great potential in the police force".
A classic politician's words offer support without giving any real support, particularly the sort of support – financial – that really matters.
Without money, Durham couldn't afford to fly, and the helicopter trial collapsed.
It was an idea literally decades ahead of its time. In 1989 at Newcastle airport, Northumbria Police began another helicopter trial which was so successful that in 1995, the three North-East forces joined forces to create the North-East Air Support Unit, and Durham and Northumbria still work together to keep their helicopter in the skies.
Another first for Durham police: the country's first scene-of-crime tent. It was 18ft by 14ft and weighed 214lb - it could be carried to the scene of a crime by four men. Here it is being unveiled at the Harperley Hall police training college to Durham sergeants on February 19, 1965. "For scene-of-the-crime investigations, it gives privacy, light and protection from bad weather," said the Advertiser's sister paper, the Evening Despatch. "It can be moved from place to place without being dismantled if a particular area of ground is being covered for clues. Archaeologists at the British Museum have used it with great success"
A new, mobile traffic control centre being put through its paces on High Row, Darlington, in March 1964. "The headquarters is in radio contacat with officers carrying walkie-talkie sets," said the Echo, marvelling at the advance in communication
"A Panda patrol swoops on an erring motorist", says the caption attached to this October 1967 picture. The term "panda" came from the days before 1960 when cars were generally black and the police painted some panels white to make them more visible
The police accident prevention unit on the A1 at Scotch Corner in August 1968 to remind drivers to take a break when travelling long distance
The Newton Aycliffe divisional headquarters operations room looking extremely dramatic and busy in 1961
A big breakthrough for Bishop Auckland police in January 1969 when every officer was issued with lightweight personal radios. "With the help of the radios, every officer will be able to get in touch with divisional headquarters at Bishop Auckland or Barnard Castle and Spennymoor sub-divisions," said the Echo
A herd of policemen, like wildebeests, sweeps majestically across the plain of South Park in Darlington, opposite Blackwell Grange, in search of clues in January 1976 following a stabbing
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here