Bird forces RAF Chinook helicopter to land in Rowsley

An RAF Chinook helicopter has been repaired and recovered after being forced to land because of a bird.

Police said the bird shattered one of the windscreens of the helicopter and the pilot felt it was unsafe to continue his journey.

The helicopter made an unscheduled landing in a field in Rowsley, Derbyshire, just before 15:00 GMT on Friday.

None of the five crew members were injured.

Darron Fleming, who was a signalman in the Royal Signals from 1983 to 1987, took photos of the helicopter before it flew off on Saturday.

"I live half a mile up the road and we get them coming through the valley all the time," he said.

"The engineers were there. They were in the process of taking out the damaged windscreen.

"I used to work with these Chinooks 20 years ago. They were a relatively new aircraft then."

He said the engineers were "happy to let people have a look around" when he was there at about 8:10 GMT.