Wiltshire Air Ambulance service is under threat

Wiltshire Air Ambulance will be collecting petition signatures of support at Barbury International Horse Trials (4-6 July), near Marlborough, in an effort to save the service.

Last year as many as 20 per cent of the patients rescued by the air ambulance were injured riders, but its future is under threat unless five-year funding can be secured.

The air rescue service is operated jointly with the police, who provide three-quarters of its funding. But a quarter of the funding — £350,000 — has to be found from public donation every year.

But to enter into a rental agreement for the helicopter, police now need the service to secure funding for the next five years.

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (19 June, ’08)

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