THE wife of a Wiltshire Air Ambulance paramedic who was on a flight targeted by ‘idiots’ using a laser pen has launched a petition to get the gadgets banned.

Claire Tucker says she cannot sit by and do nothing as ‘senseless morons’ could kill her husband and father of her three children.

“They are going to kill someone,” she said. “It petrifies me. I want him to walk the girls up the aisle. I can’t imagine life without him and I get so angry with these people.

“If someone was to threaten their dad what would they think?”

In the fourth incident in Wiltshire this year, the air ambulance had to abort a landing procedure after being targeted by a laser beam at the weekend near Trowbridge.

It was on a night training exercise when the pilot reported a bright flashing light in the cockpit.

Claire has now launched a petition and wants to get 100,000 signatures in order for the matter to be brought up in Parliament.

“I went on eBay and found that you can buy a laser pen which has a 50-mile range and only costs £12.

“Why would anyone want this? I want to get them banned for sale here and sent back from customs or destroyed.

“My husband is really angry and confused and a bit frightened about it.

"They can plan for bird strikes and the weather but there is no planning for this. It could bring them down instantly.

“I am just expecting that call. How am I going to tell my girls this?

"And I burst into tears when I think about it. My twins are only two and if he were to come down they would never know him.”

Claire took to social media to get her message out with an emotional video appeal, which saw her burst into tears.

Her message clearly resonated with the public as the video soon went viral, with more than 40,000 views.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance chief pilot Matt Wilcock said the charity had had enough of these incidents.

“We want this to stop,” he said. “It's dangerous, and can prevent an injured or sick person from getting to hospital. Maybe they think we are police helicopters spying on them.

“There is no way to tell the difference at night.”

He explained that laser pens, at close distance, give a pin-point sized light, but that over distance, the beam ‘diverges’ and becomes wider.

“The light beam can be the size of a fist by the time it hits our cockpit,” he added.

“It hits the glass of the cockpit and refracts around the perspex.

"You have to blink your eyes a lot and it is very distracting, especially if trying to land. You have to look away from the instruments."

In another dramatic air Ambulance rescue, three horses were injured when the chopper had to land in a field next to a medical emergency in Rowde, near Devizes, on Tuesday.

The aircraft touched down in the paddock off Close Lane where a man in his 60s had been crushed by a car.

He was airlifted to Bristol following the incident.

A charity spokesperson said the landing site chosen was the best option at the time.

“The landing site was chosen as it provided the easiest and quickest access to the critically injured patient at the time, who we airlifted to Southmead Hospital.

“Every consideration was given to the horses nearby, who were observed throughout by our aircrew on both landing and take-off.

“We have already been in contact with the horses’ owner, with whom with sympathise, and we will continue to discuss this matter with them directly."
Watch Claire's emotional video here.