Wiltshire Air Ambulance crews were called out more than a thousand times last year - 351 of them to cardiac emergencies.

The total of 1,061 missions includes 199 to the Swindon area.

Calls to cardiac cases represented a third of all missions, 45 more than the previous year.

There were 174 vehicle crashes, 74 medical collapses, 51 sporting incidents and 44 assaults.

The helicopter was used for 670 calls and the remaining 391 incidents were dealt with by crews in critical care cars.

Director of income generation and communications Barbara Gray said: “We have a very dedicated aircrew – consisting of pilots, critical care paramedics and doctors – who respond to emergencies, on average, three times a day, 365 days a year.

“We know it is a really difficult time for the country right now, with fuel and energy bills rising, along with inflation, contributing to this current cost of living crisis.

"“However, we remain ever grateful to our amazing donors and local businesses who continue to support us and help raise the £4m it costs each year to keep our air ambulance flying and saving lives.”

November was the busiest month with 104 call outs, followed by December when there were 96 and September with 95. The lightest month was October when there were 59.

A total of 263 patients were transferred to local hospitals, up from 237 in 2021. Most of them went to the Royal United Hospital, Bath, Southmead Hospital, Bristol and the Great Western Hospital.

Children were involved in139 emergencies and 329 missions happened at night.

Medical conditions like strokes and collapses accounted for 17 per cent of calls, down from 21 per cent in 2021. Five per cent of call outs were to sports incidents, including riding accidents and 11 per cent were to falls.

The largest number of incidents responded to were in the Swindon area, followed by Bath, where there were 83 and Salisbury with 69.

Figures include 11 in Amesbury, 17 in Bradford on Avon, 20 in Calne, 72 in Chippenham, 17 in Corsham, four in Cricklade, 49 in Devizes, 16 in Malmesbury, 33 in Marlborough, three in Tidworth, 76 in Trowbridge, 36 in Warminster and 32 in Westbury.

Calls for help also came in from neighbouring counties like Berkshire, Bristol, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Somerset. In total, 22 per cent of incidents were outside Wiltshire and Bath, down from 23.5 per cent in 2021.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance has to raise £4m a year to keep operational up to 19 hours a day and receives no regular direct funding from the Government or National Lottery grants.

Visit wiltshireairambulance.co.uk for more detail about the charity.