Censure for air ambulance charity with no aircraft

An air ambulance charity has breached the Fundraising Code of Practice by giving the impression it was operating a functional air ambulance service when it had no craft, a watchdog has found.

The Fundraising Regulator said Stoke Air Ambulance did not have access to a helicopter, an operational base, or clinicians, and did not have Care Quality Commission approval either.

It was also said to have encouraged people to redirect donations away from other air ambulance causes.

"The trustees of Stoke Air Ambulance CIO [Charitable Incorporated Organisation] are fully aware of the findings of the Fundraising Regulator and are taking steps to address the issues raised," said trustee Daniel Moores.

He added the charity was co-operating fully with an inquiry.

According to the regulator, the charity created the impression that it was up and running operationally, and claimed it would bring a helicopter to public events, with pictures appearing of its chief executive Phil Copeland and chairman Moores by an aircraft.

Gerald Oppenheim, the regulator's chief executive, said: "[The charity was] making claims on their website that they had a helicopter that was ready to fly.

"I appreciate there were pictures there but we did not see any evidence that that was the case."

He added: "They were fundraising in a way that was not compliant with the Code of Fundraising Practice in that they were making claims that could not be evidenced.

"They were misleading donors in our view and encouraging people to cancel donations to other organisations so that they could be made to Stoke Air Ambulance and that is something you just must not do."

The Charity Commission told the BBC it opened a compliance case into Stoke Air Ambulance last November after receiving concerns.

Moores said: "The trustees have been engaged with the Charity Commission since November 2025 and are cooperating fully with the statutory inquiry opened on 6 January 2026.

"The trustees have nothing further to add at this stage."

Stoke Air Ambulance claimed it would reach emergencies faster than other air ambulance charities, the regulator found.

"This confusion creates consequences," said Hanna Sebright, chief executive of the Midland Air Ambulance charity which has been operating for 35 years, and has three helicopters at bases in Staffordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire.

"Some people hesitate to donate because they simply don't know who to trust anymore.

"Every pound lost through confusion is a pound not going into patient care, not into doctors on board, nor advanced treatment in saving lives."

Charity Commission figures show that in the year ending June 2024, Stoke Air Ambulance spent £353,000 while its income was £332,000, which left a deficit of £21,000.

In its annual report, the charity said the planned deficit was due to startup costs and infrastructure matters.

Stoke Air Ambulance, a formally registered charity, launched an appeal in 2022 to try to raise £2.5m for a dedicated air ambulance serving Stoke and north Staffordshire.

The charity is still running and asking people to donate on its website.

But it has been told by the regulator to take down misleading claims and to stop making unfair or insulting statements about other charities.

The Charity Commission said it had opened a statutory inquiry into Stoke Air Ambulance CIO over concerns relating to the charity's activities and administration.

It added the regulator began engaging with the CIO in November to assess concerns "relating to its internal governance, management and administration after concerns were raised by the public".

The commission stated these concerns were focused on "the level of expenditure on fundraising and staff, the level of direct charitable delivery, concerns around the management of conflicts of interest at the charity, and payments to a company connected to a trustee".

It added it had also identified concerns regarding the charity's strategic planning and whether its goal of "obtaining and operating an air ambulance service is viable".

The statutory inquiry would examine the extent to which the trustees "are complying with their legal duties in respect to the administration, governance and management of the charity", the commission said.

There are 21 operational air ambulance charities supported by the organisation Air Ambulances UK – but Stoke Air Ambulance does not appear on its website.

Air Ambulances UK chief executive Lindsay Boswell said: "[The Midlands] area ironically is probably the best covered part of the United Kingdom for air ambulance [provision].

"There simply isn't the need for a duplication, a replication and yet another air ambulance.

"I guess it's kind of a waste of donors' money and I'd love them to be [using] their generous donations for better purposes."

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