THE Cornwall Air Ambulance attended more than 150 incidents in the south eastern and northern districts of the county last year, the charity has reported.

During 2015, one in four of the 710 emergencies attended throughout the county were cardiac-related.

The helicopter service attended 410 patients with illness and 276 with injury. A total of 91 patients had fallen and 81 had been involved in road traffic collisions.

Through the year, the paramedic crew aided 76 babies and children.

The aircrew treated 13 patients in and around Liskeard. Ten of these were cardiac emergencies, one was a rider thrown from a horse and another was a man who had been out walking when he was trampled by cows on Bodmin Moor.

Five patients were airlifted to Derriford Hospital including a young child suffering a seizure.

Nine patients were airlifted from the St Austell area including a cyclist and motorcyclist following two different road traffic collisions.

Paula Martin, the chief executive officer of Cornwall Air Ambulance, said: ‘It takes Cornwall Air Ambulance an average of just 12 minutes to reach a patient in Cornwall.

‘Many areas of the north coast and around Bodmin Moor are remote from hospitals, and often difficult to access by land ambulance, making the air ambulance essential.

‘It is thanks to our generous and loyal supporters that we can help people in their hour of need. We fly them to the hospital that best suits their needs as fast and efficiently as we can, providing first class critical care to them every second of the journey.

‘Thank you to all those who enable us to provide this lifesaving service.’

Last spring Cornwall Air Ambulance launched two new rapid response vehicles (RRVs) to enable the paramedic crew to attend emergencies even when bad weather prevents the helicopters from flying. During the year, the RRVs attended 94 patients around the county.

Cornwall Air Ambulance costs £3m per year to operate. With no direct Government funding, the charity relies on the generosity of the people and businesses of Cornwall.