London’s Air Ambulance has bought a second emergency helicopter thanks to millions of pounds of donations, making the people of Newham safer.

The purchase means a further 400 patients can be helped every year by the service, which is up to eight times faster than a car.

After seven months of fundraising, the charity received £4 million – with around half coming from London Freemasons – and now hopes to raise a further £2 million to keep the new helicopter in the air for five years.

Graham Hodgkin, Chief Executive Officer at London’s Air Ambulance, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have now completed the acquisition of our second MD902 Explorer helicopter.

“While more money still needs to be raised and there is still more work to do to get the aircraft ready for UK HEMS operations, this is a truly exciting development for London and the biggest step-change in our service resilience in the charity’s history.

“Thank you to all those who have already contributed.”

Anyone can donate, either online at yourhelicopter.london or by texting HELICOPTER to 70800 to donate £5.

Have you or anyone you know been helped by London’s Air Ambulance? If so, please tell us about it by calling 0208 477 3778 or emailing iain.burns@archant.co.uk.