A NEW £2million police helicopter could soon be hovering in the skies over the county after Lancashire Police announced they were to bid for cash to replace their current one.

Police say the present one has become too expensive to maintain after running costs hit £260,000 a year.

The AS355N twin squirrel was bought for £1.6million in 1994 when the Lancashire Constabulary Air Support Unit was set up.

Since then it has flown 5,100 hours during more than 10,000 flights and 14,000 operations. In the last year alone the police helicopter has flown 900 hours involving 1,539 flights and 2,380 tasks resulting in the arrest of 387 people, the location of 17 missing people and the recovery of £187,000 of stolen property.

The new helicopter will be cheaper to run, quieter and offer increased capabilities.

The two main contenders under consideration are the Eurocopter EC135 already used by police air support units in North Wales, East Midlands and Suffolk and soon to be seen in Merseyside, and the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas MD902 "Explorer", used by forces including Humberside and Greater Manchester.

The EC135 is the preferred option at a cost of £2.8million, compared to the Explorer at £3.2million.

The Home Office is expected to provide £1m of the cost if the bid, due to be considered in January, is successful. The the rest of the cost will be covered by the sale of the current aircraft for about £1million and existing police budgets.

A police spokesman said: "The current aircraft remains an advanced police helicopter which could be maintained for years to come, but there reaches a point where the maintenance of the helicopter and the technology limitations require an upgrade.

"It is suggested that on the experience of our neighbours in Manchester and Merseyside that this point will be reached in 2004 at the latest and experience shows that the prudent force will plan to provide a replacement helicopter at least two years before delivery."

The bid for funding will be submitted to the Government by the end of September with a decision expected by the end of January next year.