A NEW temporary night-lit helicopter landing site will go live in Hereford.

The site at Aylestone Hill will support Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s operations in the county after the hours of darkness.

The charity operates its lifesaving service 14 hours a day, 365 days a year, flying full air ambulance missions in daylight, but can only fly between lit helipads after the hours of darkness until 9pm.

The new site was launched with a test flight by the charity’s air ambulance helicopter from the Strensham airbase in Worcestershire, which was welcomed by the local community.

Julian Spiers, airbase supervisor for the Strensham airbase, which covers Herefordshire, was part of the development team.

He said: "Aylestone Hill was identified to support the regional trauma network after dark. As Hereford Hospital’s helipad isn’t currently night capable, the temporary landing site means we can reach and treat patients at a Hereford-based incident scene after dark.

"We can then rapidly convey patients in critical need of specialist care to a major trauma centre, at either Bristol or Coventry."

Visit midlandsairambulance.com or call on 0800 8 40 20 40 for more information.