THE GREAT North Air Ambulance Service says it's continued to deal with a high number of incidents despite the covid crisis.

Between July to September the service has reported 408 call-outs - the busiest month was August when there were 142.

In the same period last year the team responded to 414 call-outs.

The most common incident for both years is road crashes.

Araminta Hartley, from the service said: "We are very proud to say we have not lost one minute of operational time this year.

"This has only been possible thanks to our supporters who have stuck by us during these uncertain times.

"Over the summer, the lockdown restrictions eased and as expected there was a significant increase in incidents that our team attended, compared to spring this year.

"The main difference between these years is that in 2020 our critical care team have had to change the way we operate when attending incidents.

Since March, our team have been following guidelines on PPE they need to wear to protect themselves and those around them, including patients.

"The minimum equipment they wear includes a surgical mask, gloves and an apron."

During 2019 there were 1,640 call-outs in total.

For more information about the service, or to donate, go online to: www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk