It was with disbelief that I read that "flight regulations prevent the air ambulance being in the air after dark" whereas a police helicopter can pick up casualties at any time (Oxford Mail, March 1).

Of course, that will mean when it's not busy elsewhere.

Are we to assume that the pilots of the police helicopters have been eating their carrots and that air ambulance pilots haven't got beyond their brussels sprouts?

Or is it the case that money has not been made available to allow the air ambulance to fly in the dark?

I owe my life to the air ambulance service, having been whisked off as a young man from a remote country area with appendicitis to a city hospital at 1.30am without a single police officer on board.

There isn't a single day in this country when it's not dark at 1.30am.

Is that not sufficient proof that the air ambulance could fly at any time of day provided it had the resources to do so?

I hope that some of the millions of pounds that we all know are available for spending in various areas will be used to allow our air ambulance service to fly on dark nights. JOHN MACALLISTER, Kidlington