Air ambulance base plea
Ambulance bosses are appealing for help to find a base for a new helicopter in Staffordshire due to join the county fleet before the end of the year.
The County Air Ambulance staff are desperately seeking a suitable landing site and are turning to the business and fundraising community in the hope of identifying the perfect patch from a charitable donator.
The ideal spot will be a small area of tree-less land suitable for housing a couple of mobile cabins and flat enough to land the aircraft.
County Air Ambulance spokesman Steve Perry said: "The considerations are fairly basics we simply need to be able to land and take off. There is no need for a runway. Clearly it would be useful if the site was clear of trees and overhead power cables but apart from that it is simple.
"People need to remember that aircraft noise will be an issue but apart from that the base will be unobtrusive. At this stage we are just looking for suggestions then we will address the suitability from the pilot's and safety point of view at a later stage."
The new craft is transferring from its current base at Nottingham East Midlands Airport after insufficient funds were raised by the public to cover the cost of its running.
It will join an existing fleet of three County Air Ambulance helicopters which cover nearly 8,000 square miles across West Midlands, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, at a total cost of £3.5 million every year.
They operate from bases at East Midlands Airport, RAF Cosford, near Wolverhampton and Strensham North Services on the M5 and the service is completely funded by charitable donations.
Anyone with available land or local businesses with suitable premises can call 01902 373434.
