The people of Wiltshire have helped save thousands of lives during the past 15 years by fundraising for Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

ANDY CRYER takes a look at the history of the service, some of the amazing rescue stories and how the public's money is spent

PARAMEDICS with Wiltshire's Air Ambulance have taken part in thousands of rescues since its first flight in April 1990.

Crews have carried more than 15,000 patients over the past 15 years and last week's rescue of a 91-year-old man, who went missing in Bradford on Avon, was the 18th mission already this year.

The air ambulance is a joint project between Wiltshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust and Wiltshire Constabulary but keeping the ambulance in the air depends entirely on the generosity of the public who raise £320,000 each year to pay for it.

Often illnesses and accidents happen where access is difficult and the air ambulance is designed to overcome problems of distance or congestion.

It can take the seriously injured to hospitals across the south west, including Bath, Bristol and Salisbury, and reach any part of Wiltshire within 10 minutes.

Bruce Jarvis, an air ambulance paramedic for the past five years, believes the service is vital.

He said: "It has saved a lot of lives over the years as

it is the quickest method getting to the scene of an accident.

"It can be a harrowing job but it's certainly a worthwhile one."

The service, based in Devizes, was launched after the police hired a helicopter to help marshal the summer solstice at Stonehenge in 1989 and realised its usefulness in medical emergencies.

The helicopter, a McDonnell Douglas 902 Explorer, has a heat sensitive camera on the front and no tail rotor, cutting down noise.

It is capable of a ground speed of 140mph and can fly for an average of one-and-a- half hours.

The air ambulance is one of only three helicopters in the country that covers night flying and is on standby for 19 hours a day, from 8am until 3am, 365 days a year.

It always flies with a crew of three: the pilot, a police observer and a paramedic, and the service also links-up with a fast response car which deals with emergencies if the weather is too bad for the helicopter to take off.

Captain Bob Lowis, an air ambulance pilot for the past three years, said the service had won over the hearts of the public.

He said: "I have got the best job in Wiltshire. It is the people of Wiltshire's ambulance and I think it means a lot more because the public funds it.

"If the Government did give us money for it, people would take it for granted. This way it is the people's ambulance."