Within the first six months of the year, GWAAC was called out to 971 incidents, which equates to 162 callouts a month, five callouts a day.

For Bristol, the crew received 317 calls, which is a nine-per-cent increase on that received in the first half of 2018; 226 calls in Gloucestershire marked a five-per-cent increase from the previous year; and 86 for Bath and North East Somerset marked another nine-per-cent increase on 2018. In addition, the air ambulance crew received 133 calls for North Somerset, 101 in South Gloucestershire and 108 across areas outside of the charity’s region.

"We continue to be extremely grateful to our loyal supporters whose generosity allows us to provide a critical care service to the people of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, North Somerset and the surrounding areas,” said John Wood, Air Operations Officer for GWAAC said. “We have seen a steady increase in the number of patients we have been able to help over the years and it’s only through the help and support of our local communities that we are able to respond to this increase in demand for our service.”