AN AIR ambulance has had its trial period extended for another month after completing more than 80 missions.

The Great North Air Ambulance (GNAA) announced today that it has raised sufficient funds to keep the helicopter in the air.

The ambulance has been based at Teesside Airport since July 8, and charity bosses are keen to make the aircraft a permanent fixture, serving the people of Tees Valley, County Durham and North Yorkshire.

Along with the Blyth helicopter serving the far north of the region, the Great North Air Ambulance is enabling crews to reach the scene of an accident within minutes.

The news comes as hospitals across the region are creating heli-pads so that air ambulances can land in their grounds.

The charity's chief executive Grahame Pickering said: "This aircraft is touching on people's lives and has already shown that it is needed in our area.

"We would like to thank people who have come forward with donations and offers of help, but we still need on-going help and funding to make it a permanent fixture."

Recent missions included a woman who suffered heart problems while she was walking by the river in Richmond, North Yorkshire, on Wednesday.

Air ambulance paramedic Jon Ker said: "The road ambulance crew had to walk a mile to get to her but we had her at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton within four minutes."

Hospitals are also recognising the vital role helicopters can play in getting patients emergency treatment quickly.

Scarborough Hospital has recently created a new heli-pad at a cost of £14,000 and changed its procedure so that patients can be taken straight onto a waiting resuscitation trolley and into the hospital.

A spokeswoman for the Scarborough and North-East Yorkshire NHS Trust said: "We are one of the biggest trusts in the region geographically, and air transport is becoming increasingly important because of the speed in getting patients here compared with on the ground."

But the Darlington-based charity is still searching for business sponsors for its two helicopters and is on the look-out for more volunteers.

The GNAA can be contacted on (01325) 487263.