Cornwall Air Ambulance reports a busy year

Cornwall Air Ambulance had a busy 2024, responding to 1,064 missions, new figures show.

The air ambulance was tasked 1,160 times during 2023.

The charity's latest data showed 327 involved medical emergencies, including a five-year-old who was flown to hospital after a crash in Porthleven in August.

Jai Bosustow, who had a head injury and broken arm, got treatment before being flown to hospital and has since recovered well.

Jai's mother, Kizzy, said: "I will be forever grateful, because when you're in that scary situation all you want is someone who knows what they're doing and can help.

"It was a massive relief when the helicopter arrived, the team knew exactly what they were doing, everything fell into place, and they knew exactly what to do as well as put us at ease."

May was the busiest month, with 117 emergency calls, said the trust.

Throughout the year, the critical care team also delivered 19 blood transfusions at incident scenes.

Tim Bunting, chief executive of Cornwall Air Ambulance, highlighted the importance of community support for their Heli2 Appeal, which aims to raise £2.85m for a second helicopter.

"2024 was another busy year for your charity, both in terms of mission numbers and the Heli2 Appeal," he said.

"I want to thank every single person who has supported the appeal so far, we are getting incredibly close to reaching that £2.85m target to bring your second lifesaving helicopter to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

"But we cannot do it without you, and we need your help with the final push."

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].