A 73-YEAR-OLD West End nursing home resident was found within four hours of being reported missing, thanks to Hampshire police's spotter plane and a team of officers with dogs.

Now the police search team has been credited with saving the man's life.

The pensioner, who is diabetic and also suffers from Parkinson's disease and a mild form of dementia that results in confusion, was noted missing by his carers at 1.30pm on Saturday

After conducting a thorough search of the home they reported the matter to the police.

A team of four officers attended and, after initial inquiries, sought back-up from the dog section before starting a full search of Allington Lane.

As darkness fell, the force's spotter plane was scrambled and, soon afterwards, heat-seeking equipment on board the aircraft identified a heat source on remote land some distance from Allington Lane.

A police spokesman said: "So good was the heat source, the spotters were able to inform officers on the ground it was a person facing down on all fours."

With directions from the plane, police officers and dogs went through dark and difficult surroundings before the man was located and carried back to the warmth of a police vehicle.

After being medically examined, the man, who police are not naming, was taken back to his home to the joy of other residents and his family.

Heaping praise on his officers, Insp Paul Newstead, of Hedge End police, said: "This was a well co-ordinated and professional response on a cold, damp winter's evening, when time counts and can mean the difference between life and death.

"Had the circumstances been different and the weather had been too bad for the spotter plane to fly, then I am fairly certain that we would not have found the gentleman alive.

"If he had been left out in that very remote location for much longer, he would certainly have suffered from hypothermia with tragic consequences. This operation reflects great credit to allconcerned."