AN AIRBORNE manhunt has saved the life of a pensioner who went missing from his Selby home in sub-zero temperatures.

Police scrambled a helicopter to search for the elderly man after his worried wife called them to say her husband had not come back an hour after he had gone out for a walk.

A full-scale North Yorkshire Police search operation was launched for the missing pensioner, who suffers from dementia, amid fears the freezing weather could see him die from hypothermia.

But although officers, with the help of a police dog, scoured the area around the man's home in Wistow Road after he was reported missing in the early hours of Monday, they could not find him.

The fruitless on-foot search led to a police helicopter operated by West Yorkshire Police being called in to help - and moments after taking off, the crew had discovered him cold, but safe, and lying in a cul-de-sac near his home.

"Officers undertook an extensive search of the area, but were unable to locate the man," said a North Yorkshire Police spokeswoman.

"As the outdoor temperature began to drop, they became increasingly concerned about the risk of life-threatening hypothermia and called in a helicopter from West Yorkshire Police to assist the search.

"Using thermal imaging cameras and a searchlight, the helicopter crew located the man in just four minutes, shortly before 5am.

"He was cold, but thanks to the speed with which the helicopter discovered him, was otherwise fit and well."

Police confirmed the man had not been the victim of a crime, but say he could easily have died in the cold if he had not been quickly traced.

The North Yorkshire force does not have its own helicopter, but is able to ask for airborne aid from neighbouring forces such as West Yorkshire and Cleveland Police.

Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Read, of North Yorkshire Police, said: "We have a very close working relationship with our neighbouring police forces and this is an excellent example of how effective that regional partnership can be.

"I'm convinced that this man would have died from hypothermia if we had not been able to find him in time, and my thanks go to West Yorkshire Police for coming to our assistance so quickly.

"That the crew was able to locate him in just four minutes is testament both to their skill and to the quality of the resources which the police are able to call upon. Without such joint working, the story may not have had such a happy ending."