British pilots have called for lasers to be classed as offensive weapons after the First Officer of a Virgin Atlantic jet bound for New York was dazzled in a laser attack as he returned to Heathrow.

British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) general secretary Jim McAuslan said: 'This is not an isolated incident. Aircraft are attacked with lasers at an alarming rate and with lasers with ever-increasing strength.

'It is an incredibly dangerous thing to do. Shining a laser at an aircraft puts that aircraft, its crew and all the passengers on board at completely unnecessary risk.

Drama: The pilot was injured at around 8,000ft west of London (somewhere probably in this zone) and they flew on to the west coast of Ireland before realising the victim was too unwell to continue

'Modern lasers have the power to blind, and certainly to act as a huge distraction and to dazzle the pilots during critical phases of flight.'

He added: 'We repeat our call to the Government to classify lasers as offensive weapons which would give the police more power to arrest people for possessing them if they had no good reason to have them. This incident shows why this is becoming more and more urgent.'

Police are now hunting for the suspect who shone a military strength beam into the cockpit just after take-off around six miles west of London last night.

The attacker, who could face jail, was using a laser that can melt plastic or cut through wood at close range and was so powerful it managed to injure the pilot flying at 8,000 feet.

Audio from the cockpit reveals the attack came '6 to 7 miles' west of Heathrow - and the jet turned back over Ireland when it became clear the First Officer, who later went to hospital, was badly hurt.

MailOnline has studied the TransAtlantic jet's flight path, which suggests that the strike was along the M3 corridor in Surrey somewhere between Weybridge and Sandhurst.

Injuries: The First Officer, who was flying the plane last night, had damaged vision and felt unwell so was taken to hospital on landing back in London

Crime: Police are now looking for the person who fired a laser into the cockpit of a Virgin Atlantic flight bound for New York from Heathrow last night

If convicted the person behind the attack could be jailed for up to five years and find £5,000 - if the plane came down and crashed then it would be a life sentence.

Air traffic controllers were told one of the pilots sustained a 'medical issue' following the incident, which occurred shortly after take-off while the plane was just six or seven miles west of Heathrow.

Scared: Bethany McHutchinson described the moment the plane turned back to Heathrow

The captain said: 'We have a medical issue with one of the pilots.

'After a laser incident after take off and we're going to return to heathrow.'

The Airbus A340 made a U-turn over the Atlantic Ocean having passed over Ireland's west coast and returned to Heathrow as a 'precautionary measure' after the First Officer's vision was obscured by the laser.

Bethany McHutchinson was on board the plane and said she feared for the lives of everyone on board when the pilot told them about the laser strike.

She told Sky News: 'I think it's just really scary whether it was by accident or on purpose if it had been really serious it could have been put everyone on the plane's lives in danger.

'So it's just nice to know we're safe now and we're back on the ground. But it's very scary when you're up in the are and you hear stuff like that'.

Aviation expert Janet Alexander, a commercial airline pilot, told the BBC laser strikes were increasing and the equipment is so powerful it can blind victims.

She said: 'It's unfortunately becoming an increasingly problematic occurrence.

'It's very like a lightning strike in that it's very instantaneous, very, very bright light, which is dazzling basically,' she said.

'And of course if it's targeted in exactly the wrong way you could permanently damage someone's sight.'

Laser expert John Tyrer, of Loughborough University, is a professor of optical instrumentation and has designed laser safety equipment for the police.

He said the pilot could have felt stunned or shocked by the incident, adding: 'If you get an attack in your eye it will make your eye water and you may get a headache.'

Mr Tyrer added: 'If the laser is bought from reputable UK supply sources there are power density limits placed on these devices so that they can't cause any damage to the eye.

'However, there are people that buy these things off the internet which are shipped in typically from the Far East - which are very, very powerful lasers and have no use as a pointer.'

He added: 'That is permanent retinal damage right away.'

Damaging: This is how a powerful laser looks to a pilot - this attack was on a West Midlands Police helicopter in 2014

A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said the safety of the crew and customers on board the VS025 travelling from London Heathrow to New York JFK flight was a 'top priority.'

They added: 'All customers will be offered overnight accommodation and we will get them on their journey as soon as possible. We are working with the authorities to identify the source of the laser that caused the return of the aircraft to Heathrow.'

In 2010 a law was passed in the UK which allows offenders to be charged with 'shining a light at an aircraft in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot'.

If the distraction or dazzle is serious, a person may be found guilty of 'reckless endangerment' and sent to prison.

Between 2009 and June 2015 more than 8,998 laser incidents across the country were reported to the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

LASERS ARE FIRED AT UK PLANES MORE THAN 100 TIMES A YEAR In 2010 a law was passed in the UK which allows offenders to be charged with 'shining a light at an aircraft in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot'. If the distraction or dazzle is serious, a person may be found guilty of 'reckless endangerment' and sent to prison. Between 2009 and June 2015 more than 8,998 laser incidents across the country were reported to the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Topping the list for the number of most frequent laser incidents for the first six months of last year was London Heathrow with 48, followed by Birmingham with 32, Leeds Bradford with 24 and Manchester with 23. Advertisement

Air traffic controllers were told one of the pilots sustained a 'medical issue' following the incident, which occurred shortly after take-off while the plane was just six or seven miles west of Heathrow (pictured)

Topping the list for the number of most frequent laser incidents for the first six months of last year was London Heathrow with 48, followed by Birmingham with 32, Leeds Bradford with 24 and Manchester with 23.

A CAA spokesman said: 'Shining a laser at an aircraft in flight could pose a serious safety risk and it is a criminal offence to do so. We strongly urge anyone who sees a laser being used at night in the vicinity of an airport to contact the police immediately.'

In November 2015 it was reported that the eye of a British Airways pilot was damaged by a 'military' strength laser which had been shone into the cockpit of his aircraft earlier in the year.

It is understood that the Virgin Atlantic aircraft, one of the latest flights to be affected by a laser, had passed over the west coast of Ireland before heading back to Heathrow.

A message on Virgin Atlantic's status website said: 'Following this incident the First Officer reported feeling unwell. The decision was taken by both pilots to return to Heathrow rather than continue the transatlantic crossing.'

It is understood that there were 252 passengers and 15 crew on board the flight.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'Police were contacted at approximately 9.35pm on Sunday February 14 following reports of a laser shone in the direction of a commercial flight that had taken off from Heathrow Airport.

'Inquiries continue to establish where the offence took place. There have been no arrests.'