'Gareth Pope, 41, spent Bank Holiday Monday collecting twigs with his wife and two children. But an over-zealous forest warden spotted him at Chinnor Hill Nature Reserve in Oxon, and confronted him before dialling 999. Dispatchers scrambled a £500-an-hour police helicopter from RAF Benson, Oxon.

When Mr Pope arrived home in Princes Risborough, Bucks, the chopper was hovering overhead. Two Thames Valley police officers then arrived to inform him he would not be arrested since no offence had been committed.'

Read more: Helicopter Used to Nab Twig Collector