A Hercules crew from RAF Lyneham flew to the rescue on Tuesday in a mercy mission to save the life of a

critically-ill newborn baby.

Doctors at Swansea's Singleton Hospital feared the four-day-old baby boy, who was suffering from a severe lack of oxygen because his lungs were not working, would die without specialist treatment.

The nearest one of four specialist hospitals with space was 350 miles away in Glasgow, but with stormy weather grounding civilian

aircraft, air ambulances and RAF rescue helicopters there appeared little hope.

But at 6pm on Monday the RAF agreed to help and a Hercules C-130J transport plane from RAF Lyneham flew to RAF Brize Norton, where it picked up two civilian paediatric

doctors and a three-man RAF aeromedical team, which specialises in taking care of patients in the air.

The plane left the airbase at 9pm and landed in Cardiff airport shortly afterwards, where the medical team drove the 40 miles to Swansea and spent several hours stabilising the six-pound baby, before returning to Cardiff.

At 10am on Tuesday the 98ft long Hercules, which can carry loads of up to 220 tonnes landed in Glasgow, where paramedics were waiting to transfer the baby into an incubator before taking him to hospital.

Group Captain Paul Oborn, RAF Lyneham's Station Commander said: "RAF Lyneham is very proud to be involved in an operation such as this. Everyone who was involved ensured that the baby received the best treatment possible."

The baby is receiving emergency treatment on an extra-corporeal membranous oxygenation machine, to help him breathe.

His parents, from Bridgend, in South Wales, flew up separately to be at their son's bedside.