Air ambulance night flights in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire cut as medics redeployed to coronavirus pandemic

Bosses from Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance say that from May, night fights will be cut as medics are needed to help with the coronavirus pandemic
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The charity said the cancellation of fundraising events and closure of its shops would see them lose out on £3m in funding, and night operations have already been scaled back.

A spokesperson for the charity said: "We have already had to scale back night missions meaning our helicopter will not be making night missions at all as of May.

"This move is due to some of our crew being called back to support the NHS, while some are self-isolating, unable to travel or have become ill.

Lincs and Notts Air AmbulanceLincs and Notts Air Ambulance
Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance

"The initial impact of coronavirus left us no other option than to cancel our fundraising activities and close our shops.

"We anticipate we may lose up to £3m in income as a result.

“In order to protect our staff, volunteers and the wider community, we have cancelled all events, cheque collections, talks, box collections and all upcoming engagements which involve the gathering of people.”

Karen Jobling, chief executive said: "We continue to carry out life-saving missions every day but, along with a reducing service, we are concerned about the impact of this significant income drop when we are able to resume our service.

"We need to be safeguarded against these effects so that we can continue our missions now and return to full capacity, while realising our ambition to be a full 24/7 service."

On Wednesday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced £750m of funding to help struggling charities during the coronavirus pandemic.