New Devon Air Ambulance Community landing site at South Molton College

Earlier this week, members of South Molton Community College, South Molton Town Council and Devon Air Ambulance (DAA) gathered to formally launch the community landing site at the College playing field.

The surveyed floodlit landing site at the College will enable Devon Air Ambulance to land in the town during the ‘hours of darkness’ allowing their clinical teams to reach patients more quickly and safely than if they had to land in a ‘dark field’.

Toby Russell from Devon Air Ambulance said: “It’s great news that the night landing site at South Molton Community College is now operational which means we can reach local people who need our urgent help by air easily in the hours of darkness.

The project with South Molton Community College and South Molton Town Council has involved the installation of several LED lights on the College’s sports lighting columns, and these new lights can be operated remotely in an emergency. This lighting will help our crews by illuminating the playing field during landing and take-off as well as helping medical teams when moving around the site and for the safe carrying and loading of a patient into the helicopter.

Added to this, we have surveyed the playing field so that our crews can get a better understanding of the key features of the site and the landscape surrounding it before they arrive on scene by helicopter.”

Mr David Lewis, Principal at South Molton Community College, said: “This is another great opportunity for us to support our local community. The fantastic work of DAA is one to be celebrated and we are proud to support this initiative.”

Councillor David Warden, Chair of North Devon District Council and member of South Molton Town Council said: “I think it is absolutely fantastic that we have a dedicated night landing site in South Molton. The Air Ambulance does a brilliant job and the residents of South Molton are very grateful to them.

On behalf of South Molton Town Council I’d like to thank South Molton Community College for all their support of the project.”

Toby Russell went on to say: “We would like to extend a huge thank you to South Molton Community College and South Molton Town Council for all their support.

The College have not only enabled new lighting to be installed but also undertaken work to improve access to and from the site by Air Ambulance crews and other emergency services and the Town Council have readily backed this initiative by providing essential funding towards the lighting solution now in place. A great example of local organisations working together for local people.”