Air ambulance to raise funds for second helicopter

Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is raising funds for a second helicopter

An air ambulance charity is launching an appeal to raise the final £1m needed to purchase a second air ambulance helicopter.

Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) is the busiest air ambulance in the south west, being tasked to nearly 3,000 missions a year.

Their current AW169 helicopter, named Peggy, is flown more intensively than almost any other air ambulance of its kind in the UK.

Charles Hackett, CEO of Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, said: "We are proud of how far we have come over the years, but we have reached the limit of what is possible with just one aircraft."

The charity has already secured the majority of funds needed and the remaining £1m is the final push that will make a second AW169 helicopter a reality.

Mr Hackett added: "With daily maintenance requirements, we cannot get more than 19 hours a day of flying, and the demands on Peggy mean that faults and issues come around all too soon."

Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is a local lifesaving charity which receives no direct funding from the government and relies on donations and fundraising.

Their operational costs are over £10m a year, and the approximate cost of one mission is £3,500.