David Beckham and Prince of Wales celebrate London’s Air Ambulance Charity new helicopter fleet

The Prince of Wales and David Beckham explore one of the new London Air Ambulance Charity helicopters. Credit: PA

Former England football captain David Beckham and The Prince of Wales have celebrated London’s Air Ambulance Charity new fleet this morning.

It follows a two-year multimillion-pound fundraising appeal for two new helicopters to replace its existing ones, with a target of £15 million.

Prince William - who is patron of London’s Air Ambulance Charity - invited Leytonstone-born Beckham to see the new fleet at RAF Northolt in west London. It's after he became the public face of the Omaze house draw which raised £4 million for the charity’s Up Against Time helicopter appeal.

David Beckham sitting in the cockpit of one of the new London Air Ambulance Charity helicopters. Credit: PA

During his visit to the RAF site, sporting legend said: "We’re here today to celebrate the success of the fundraiser for London’s air ambulances which is something close to my heart and has been for a number of years.

"I’m an East End boy so every time we saw them in the air it made us very proud.

"As soon as I was asked to be involved by Prince William it was something I was very honoured (to do) in all honesty."

He added: "It’s something that’s been a part of London for a long long time, over 35 years of incredible work that the pilots do and the medics do, the millions of lives they’ve saved over the years is something I was very proud to be invited to be part of.”

The Prince of Wales with David Beckham viewing one of the new London Air Ambulance Charity helicopters. Credit: PA

The new H135 helicopters will help ensure the vital service for Londoners continues for years to come.

London’s Air Ambulance Charity reached their target in August, with Prince William hailing the announcement on X, formally Twitter, writing: ”Fantastic News! This is going to have a life-saving impact.

“A huge thank you to everyone who donated, W.”

The Prince of Wales was shown inside one of the new helicopters by members of the Air Ambulance. Credit: PA

London’s Air Ambulance Charity was established in 1989 following a growing consensus of opinion that victims of serious accidents were dying because of the delay in expert medical help reaching them, and the time it took to transport patients to hospital.

The service pioneered the doctor-on-board model for air ambulances and aims to bring the hospital emergency department to the scene of an incident.

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