A Western Power Distribution helicopter was visible over the Ashby area on Monday.

The 'copter hovered over the town before heading north to Lount and Melbourne.

A WPD spokesperson said: "On this occasion, it was carrying out a routine patrol of overhead power lines in the Ashby area."

WPD operates a fleet of five aircraft from its Helicopter Unit HQ at Bristol Airport.

The helicopters are used within the electricity distribution industry for the proactive maintenance and repair of networks and also during emergency and fault conditions.

WPD's Helicopter Unit is operated by a staff of five pilots, six observers, four assistant observers and three maintenance engineers under the charge of Accountable Manager Robin Tutcher, the team operates out of a specially constructed hangar and offices at Bristol Airport.

Robin said: "The crews are highly skilled and experienced flying a total of over 3,000 hours annually inspecting approximately 50,000kms of network.

"We know we can rely on each other to get the job done safely and efficiently which is very important."