GREAT Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) has received their new, improved helicopter after the public raised a quarter of a million pounds.

The Eurocopter 135, which replaces the ageing Bolkow, will save time in transferring patients to hospital and improve the care they receive in the air.

The Movin’ On Up campaign successfully reached £250,000 to secure the additional lease for six months.

Upgrading to the EC 135 means the advanced Critical Care service can now be carried out in the air and the helicopter can land on the Bristol Royal Infirmary and the Gloucester Royal helipads, which the Bolkow was unable to do.

The new chopper has an extra seat, so if a child is airlifted, one of their parents can accompany them to hospital. The extra seat will also allow GWAAC to train new paramedics and doctors.

The EC 135 is also side-loading, which will reduce the amount of time it takes to load patients who were previously loaded through the back of the Bolkow, which could take up to 20 minutes.

Critical care paramedic John Wood, the clinical lead for the team, said: “One of the major advantages is that we will now be able to land on the BRI helipad, without having to land on the Downs and make the transfer in by land ambulance.

“This will make a big time saving.”

To keep the new helicopter in the air GWAAC, now need to raise £2m a year.

GWAAC chief executive John Christensen said: “It is a fantastic gain for the people in the region, who paid for it with their charitable donations. The challenge now comes to keep it going. We need support to keep it in the air.”

Mr Christensen, who thanks the public for their generosity, added: “It is a great cause because we really do save lives.”

Anyone who wants to donate to GWAAC can do so by visiting www.gwaac.com or by texting HELI13 £2 (or any amount) to 70070.

GWAAC, formed in 2008, provides an air ambulance service for Bristol, Bath, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

The helicopter attended 1,544 missions last year, 14 per cent of which were in Gloucestershire and 10 per cent were in Wiltshire.

The team fly seven days a week, 365 days a year and attend more than 100 incidents per month.