A police helicopter was heard flying over Southampton last night, leaving people scratching their heads.

Puzzled residents took to social media on Monday evening after hearing an aircraft hover over Sholing and Bitterne.

Not knowing what this was for, many were left wondering whether a serious incident had occurred.

Today, however, police confirmed the call-out was in response to reports of a missing man.

A spokesperson from the National Police Air Service confirmed a police helicopter crew from NPAS Bournemouth was deployed at 6.20pm.

Hampshire Constabulary requested its assistance in the search for a missing person in the Southampton area.

A search area was cleared and total flight time was about one hour, the spokesperson said.

The missing person has now been found.

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