Lincolnshire & Nottingham Air Ambulance launch second helicopter to man coastline ahead of summer

A new helicopter has been launched by the Lincolnshire and Nottingham Air Ambulance team to cover the coastline ahead of an expected boom in visitors.

Last year the emergency service responded to 348 emergencies between July and September, which was one of the busiest summers on record, this number is expected to increase as people head to the coast for staycations.

The service decided that it was necessary to put the new vehicle into action despite losing around a million pounds in fundraising income in the last year.

The helicopter will take over from the Critical Care Care that has been operational on the coast since June 1 and has already attended over 30 potential life-threatening incidents this month.

Karen Jobling, the Chief Executive of the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance, said: "When lockdown was first eased around Easter time we saw a lift in the number of missions we were being called to.

"And then when we considered the government's overall roadmap as we ease out of lockdown it's anticipated that there is going to be quite a surge in the population around the coastal resorts around the UK.

"We have some beautiful coastal resorts in Lincolnshire and so talking with other emergency services and the ambulance services we wanted to try and provide an extra resource for all those thousands of people coming in the summer months when lockdown eases."