OWNERS of an aviation museum were celebrating a major coup last night after being offered a vital role in the work of an airborne 999 crew.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance - a 140mph helicopter with a three-strong team of paramedics - has suffered problems taking off from its usual base at Leeds Bradford Airport because of poor weather conditions.

And as a result, emergency services chiefs have decided to forge stronger links with the region by setting up a winter base at the Yorkshire Air Museum, in Elvington, near York.

Museum bosses said they were delighted to be offered the role as a strategic base - and its effectiveness has already been proven.

The announcement came after a day of confusion. Initially ambulance service officials said they had no plans to switch before apparently changing their minds.

The helicopter has been on stand-by at the museum this week - and was airborne just 90 seconds after an emergency call came in on Tuesday.

Museum spokesman Ian Richardson said: "It is quite a major coup for the museum. It recognises the infrastructure in place and the levels of service we can provide here."

Chris Day, of the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service, said: "It makes sense, as it is a reasonably central point in North Yorkshire, with good access to the coast and the North York Moors.

"One of the issues with Leeds Bradford is that it is quite a high base and cloud cover can be a problem."

It has also been learned that the ambulance service has reached an agreement with military chiefs to use bases at RAF Leeming and Dishforth for the helicopter.

Mr Day said: "We are working with the RAF to establish more new bases in North Yorkshire. Leeming is our first choice because of the excellent facilities it has.

"The Army has been very kind to offer us their support."

The air ambulance service took to the skies last October and is equipped to deal with a variety of emergency situations.

It will be able to take advantage of lower fuel costs at Leeming and Dishforth because of an arrangement between the RAF and the National Association of Air Ambulances