Aberdeen has been named as the home of a new air ambulance which is expected to save countless lives across the north and north-east.
Earlier this year, Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) launched a £6 million fundraising drive in order to operate a second copter, in addition to the one it already runs from Perthshire.
Politicians and north-east residents, who have received the invaluable emergency assistance of the existing helicopter in the past, leapt aboard a Press and Journal campaign to ensure that it was based in Aberdeen.
And this morning, at Hazlehead Park, there have been celebrations as SCAA announced that the helicopter will be homed in the Granite City.
It is hoped that the machine will be in operation within a year.
SCAA founding chairman, John Bullough, explained that the board unanimously approved Aberdeen as the base for the new aircraft following a recommendation from the Scottish Ambulance Service.
He said: “SCAA is frequently tasked to emergencies in the north-east and having an air ambulance based there will optimise the coverage and resilience of the country’s entire emergency air response.”