Fears police helicopter could go

The original contract between the two services ends this year

Wiltshire could be about to lose its police helicopter if the Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust which shares the aircraft pulls its funding.

The air ambulance partnership with the police may come to an end if proposals for a new helicopter to be based near Bristol are backed.

Wiltshire Police Authority said it wants to keep the partnership.

But Chief Constable Brian Moore said he would not trade in police officers to keep the helicopter in the air.

"There will be about a half a million pounds funding gap to close which I don't have and at this stage I can't see where that money's going to come from and I'm not prepared to trade in police officers or members of my Force to keep the aircraft in the air," said Chief Constable Moore.

Fears unfounded

In a statement Christopher Hoare, chairman of Wiltshire Police Authority said: "The Wiltshire Air Ambulance partnership is immensely valuable to the people of Wiltshire and the Wiltshire Police Authority would not wish to see this jeopardised.

"The helicopter which we use is funded through a private finance initiative. The original contract term which was for 10 years will come to an end in December 2008 and there is provision to renew for a further period of five years.

"The recent meeting with the Great Western Ambulance Trust was held in order to determine what the intentions of the ambulance trust are in relation to the current arrangement. Certainly the Police Authority would wish this cost efficient joint service to continue if at all possible."

But Dr Ossie Rawstorne of the Great Western Ambulance said fears the county would not be covered were unfounded: "The general fear about the loss of air ambulance cover in Wiltshire is 'tilting at windmills'.

"I don't believe that there is any real reason for any person in Wiltshire to fear that we will be reducing in any way the air cover."

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