It was snapped by Birmingham's National Police Air Service (NPAS) yesterday when they flying high on route back to base.

The team were returning after assisting South Staffordshire Police with a missing persons search when they captured the city's skyline in all its glory and uploaded it to Twitter.

The Birmingham branch of the NPAS, provide air support to police in the region from their base at Birmingham Airport.

They are often involved in searching for people who are missing, vulnerable or at risk. It allows the police able to cover much larger areas than usual and helps to provide assistance to units on the ground.

Each helicopter has a thermal imaging camera, which is a valuable tool that can be used to locate people very quickly by their body heat, which in some circumstances means the difference between life and death.

If a vehicle fails to stop for police, the helicopter is usually requested to attend in order to minimise any risk to members of the public and police officers. The aircraft's crew will give a full commentary on the incident and progress of the vehicle so that experienced traffic officers can intercept the vehicle and bring the pursuit to a safe conclusion.

The video footage taken from the helicopter forms part of the evidence used to bring offenders to justice

Whether it might be searching for a robbery suspect, burglar, car thief or other suspect, the helicopter can search large areas quickly and direct ground resources accordingly.

To find out more about what the National Police Air Service do in the West Midlands and on a national scale, go to their website at www.npas.police.uk. Alternatively, follow the Birmingham NPAS on Twitter at @NPASBirmingham