THE number of flights made by the County Air Ambulance have gone up by almost 40 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The life-saving helicopter service, which serves 8,000 square miles across the West Midlands, including Herefordshire and Worcestershire, undertook 671 missions to reach patients suffering serious medical conditions or traumatic injuries from January to March - with 292 of them in March alone.

Last year it went on 473 missions in the same period.

Ian Clayton, County Air Ambulance operations manager said that changes to the way the service is now operating and the seasonal trend may be the reason behind the increases: "County Air Ambulance is being called upon more frequently to attend incidents across the region," he said.

"So far this year we are dealing with approximately 40 per cent more cases than during the same period last year.

"The control room move from the Cosford airbase to the West Midlands Ambulance Service Emergency Operations Centre in Brierley Hill, together with other procedural changes, have been implemented to ensure that aircraft are available to attend a greater number of calls across the region".

He added the increase in flying missions will probably continue throughout the summer if past history is anything to go by.

"The late spring and summer months usually bring the busiest time for aircrews," he said.

"We generally experience high numbers of road accidents, particularly motorcycle incidents, as well as horse riding casualties, hill walkers and climbers.

"The vital importance of the air ambulance cannot be underestimated during this busy time and it is thanks to the generosity of the public in supporting the charity that the service is able to provide a life saving service across the area".