Air ambulances to cover longer summer days

The two charities operating the air ambulances covering this region will extend the hours they operate this summer to cover the longer days.

The four helicopters will operate from seven am until sunset. Currently they go off line at 5pm.

The East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) and the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT) cover the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Suffolk and Norfolk.

Every day, their emergency trained doctor and paramedic crews are tasked to the scene of serious accidents and medical emergencies across the region.

The helicopters, equipped with an array of life-saving equipment, can reach remote or inaccessible areas quickly enabling the medical teams to begin emergency treatment at the incident site.

When necessary they can also fly patients to the most appropriate hospital to treat their condition.

From April 2, one helicopter from the EAAA and one from the EHAAT will cover the early part of the day while each charity's second aircraft will cover the end of the day. All four aircraft will be operational for the main part of the day.

Cliff Gale, EHAAT operations director, said: "Building on the success of the initiative trialled last year, we are looking forward to working with the EAAA and the EEAST to, once again, provide a high class clinical service to the people in all six counties in the region for longer by using the crews and the four helicopters we operate."