East Anglian Air Ambulance: New Aircraft

Doctors and paramedics on-board the East Anglian Air Ambulance will soon be able to get to injured patients quicker.

It's because the charity, which has one helicopter based at Cambridge Airport and one based in Norwich, has ordered two new helicopters.

The new helicopters are faster then the aircraft they will replace by July 2012.

Another helicopter, to replace one of the new ones being delivered by July 2012, will also be delivered in December 2013.

The new helicopters will be able to fly at night, if the East Anglian Air Ambulance is licensed to do so by the Civil Aviation Authority.

At the moment it is only able to fly during the day, between dawn and dusk.

The charity's Chief Exec Tim Page said: 'The arrival of our new aircraft marks a big step forward in emergency care in East Anglia and will give people in our region the benefit of an air ambulance fleet which is unmatched in the UK.'

Hayden Newton, Chief Executive of the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: 'We welcome the arrival of the new aircraft which will increase its capabilities still further and we look forward to continuing to work with the charity in delivering pre-hospital emergency care to those in need across the region.'

The charity has helped 589 patients during the last nine months, and covers Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Bedfordshire.

It costs £4.5 million a year to run the charity's two helicopters.

The new aircraft are being supplied by Bond Air Services.