AN airborne 999 service celebrated a boost to its lifesaving work yesterday after it took delivery of a new helicopter.

The Great North Air Ambulance's Teesside-based trauma team will now operate from a McDonnell Douglas 902 Explorer, putting the service at the forefront of helicopter medical support in the UK.

It replaces the 1950s-designed Bolkow helicopter, which the service's paramedics have used in recent years.

Bosses at the charity said the Explorer was more spacious, powerful and safer than its predecessor.

The Arizona-built Explorer is unusual in that it does not have a tail rotor, allowing crews to operate in more confined spaces and reducing risks to those working around the helicopter.

Patients are loaded through a side door and relatives can also be carried if necessary. There is space for a full size baby incubator - something the older aircraft had no room for.

All medical equipment is built in, meaning crews have gases, monitors and other essentials on hand.

North-East flying enthusiasts Mo Haddon and John Norman, who were rescued in the Bolkow after their glider crashed, were at Durham Tees Valley Airport to welcome the helicopter yesterday.