A bright yellow helicopter has been spotted in the skies of rural Leicestershire this week.

People living in the west of the county may have wondered what the distinctive looking machine, which has 'Electricity' emblazoned on its side, was up to.

Video footage of the aircraft was sent in to LeicestershireLive after it was filmed flying above the rooftops of Market Bosworth.

After a bit of investigation, it turns out the helicopter belongs to utility firm Western Power Distribution (WPD), which has a Midlands base in nearby Hinckley.

The electricity distribution network operator for the Midlands, South West and Wales owns and operates a fleet of five choppers from its Helicopter Unit headquarters at Bristol Airport.

The helicopter was seen flying over Market Bosworth

The helicopters are used primarily within the electricity distribution industry for the maintenance and repair of networks, and also during emergency and fault conditions.

A Western Power spokeswoman said: "I can confirm that a WPD helicopter was flying over Market Bosworth on Wednesday.

"The helicopter was carrying out an inspection of local power lines following reports of a fault.

"The crew successfully identified the cause of the fault and this is now being resolved by WPD engineers."

She added that the aircraft flew from Bristol directly to Market Bosworth before returning to the south east, however, the helicopters can land if necessary at local airports.

WPD’s Helicopter Unit is operated by a staff of five pilots, six observers, four assistant observers and three maintenance engineers under the charge of manager Robin Tutcher.

Western Power Distribution has a fleet of five aircraft

The team operates out of a specially constructed hangar and offices at Bristol Airport.

Robin said: “The crews are highly skilled and experienced and notch up a total of over 3,000 flying hours annually inspecting approximately 50,000kms of network.

"They will ultimately decide if bad weather such as high winds, poor visibility or heavy rain makes flying hazardous or impractical.

“We know we can rely on each other to get the job done safely and efficiently which is very important.”