MORE than 50 people in Weston -on-the-Green were among the first to see a new emergency helicopter to benefit Oxfordshire.

The EC135 Eurocopter - which is more advanced than the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance's existing helicopter - landed in Weston-on-the-Green.

John Black, a consultant at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, Rebecca Seabrook, a receptionist at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire and Carl Graham, a nurse from the Royal Berkshire Hospital, were among the first to travel in the aircraft.

The EC135 Eurocopter will be leased from Bond Air Services, which is to be taken over by Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance (TVAC), later this year.

TVAC chairman of trustees Colin Lee said: "The arrival of this new helicopter marks a significant new era in the development of the air ambulance service in our region.

"It will greatly improve our ability to deliver fast and effective emergency medical care.

"Among its many benefits and improved features is increased capacity - enabling a carer, like a concerned mother, to accompany a patient to hospital."

TVAC funds the operation of the existing MMB Bolkow 105 DBS helicopter, which has served the emergency services for decades but is now being gradually phased out.

The TVAC Trust receives no funding from the NHS or from the National Lottery, relying entirely on sponsorship, donations and fundraising activities organised by communities to meet the running costs of £1.7m per year.

Of this, £1.5m comes from the Berkshire area and only £200,000 of public donations comes from Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

The EC135 will be based at RAF Benson, near Wallingford, and will begin service in July.