Mark Watson is taking to the skies as the new recruit for Blackpool's air ambulance –while keeping his feet on the ground as part of the resort's dedicated ambulance team.

The 24-year-old joined the flying medics a month ago after two years patrolling London before moving back to the resort.

He is the newest member of the North West Air Ambulance which is based at Blackpool International Airport.

The team at the centre is made up of some of the most experienced paramedics in the North West, having clocked up 75 years of experience on the job.

Former Montgomery High School pupil Mark left the capital last year to undergo a series of gruelling recruitment tests before taking to the skies.

In his month-long service so far he has been to accidents on the region's motorways and farmland, which land-based ambulances struggle to get to.

Mark said: "I wanted a change in scenery and you don't get much different than from the sky.

Team

"I decided to split my shifts between ambulances and the air ambulance to get a real feel of what it's like to do both.

"I love being in the air with the rest of the crew and getting to places which would be impossible if you were on the road.

"You can get to accidents quicker by air which means you can get to casualties quicker.

"We all work as a team both in the ambulance and in the air. It is vital that we do so because, at the end of the day, people rely on us to get there as quickly as possible to help them out."

The crew are on call 365 days a year and is made up of six crew members.

It relies solely on charity donations from the public to keep in the air and needs around £1.9m a year to do so.

Air ambulance chiefs are appealing for donations over the festive period to kit out the staff over the next year.

Justin Mawtus, operations supervisor at the service, said: "Our new guys have joined the service recently and need to be kitted out properly to cope with all weather conditions and situations."