The helicopter in the picture above belongs to Surrey Air Ambulance. Interestingly, until recently Surrey was one of only a few counties in the UK that did not have its own dedicated Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS). This changed in June 2007!

The service, based at Dunsfold Park, flies fast, direct and unhindered at over 150 miles per hour and the entire county can be reached within minutes.

The principal challenge for the registered charity is to meet the yearly running costs of approximately £1.5 million to provide Surrey and neighbouring Sussex with an emergency helicopter service, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

A helicopter landed at Sandy Bay late this morning in response to an emergency call, after first and unsuccessfully trying to land in the Fugelmere area of Fleet Pond – quite a tricky endeavour! The Surrey Air Ambulance was transporting paramedics to an emergency in Pondtail.

The impressive picture was taken by Fleet Pond Society Chairman Colin Gray who happened to be in the area inspecting the work site for the Eli Lilly volunteers visit on the 30th July (see post). The landing must have been quite a surprise!