News

Helicopter pilot flies from Salford to Preston and back for beef sandwich

A helicopter pilot's 80-mile round trip to pick up a beef sandwich from a farm shop was a "flagrant abuse" of lockdown rules, a councillor has said.

The Manc The Manc - 6th March 2021
Chipping Farm Shop

A helicopter pilot is under fire after making an 80-mile round trip in his chopper for a roast beef butty.

The incident, which has been covered by BBC News, was posted on Instagram by Chipping Farm Shop near Preston when the man landed on their property to pick up his “roast beef in gravy barm with caramelised onion.”

Sounds good that, I’m not going to lie to you.

The video posted by the shop showed the helicopter landing nearby and a member of staff delivering the sandwich to the pilot – before giving the camera a double thumbs up.

But a local councillor now says that this was a “flagrant abuse” of lockdown rules and it has been confirmed that Ribble Valley council is investigating the possible Covid rule breach.

ADVERTISEMENT

According to the BBC, the shop has now deleted its account on Facebook, which had also posted videos of the helicopter’s arrival.

A local resident told the BBC that the shop serves “takeaway drinks and snacks to the many cyclists who come here [and] earlier this week there were 20 plus of them and a helicopter for the second day running”.

Both Greater Manchester Police and Lancashire Police are looking into the incident.