THE Yorkshire Air Ambulance celebrated the arrival of its second helicopter at an event to mark its seventh birthday.
The helicopter, which will be based at Sheffield City Airport, will go into service this month.
It was paid for with cash given after the air ambulance service flew Top Gear star Richard Hammond to hospital after a high-speed crash at Elvington, near York, in September last year.
The service said it still relied upon public support and needs £6,900 per day to keep its helicopters flying.
TV presenter Hammond was treated for swelling to his brain and bruising after his crash, caused by a tyre blowout at 288mph while driving a jet-powered car.
Air ambulance spokeswoman Laura Turner said: “Following all the publicity surrounding Richard Hammond’s dramatic crash it is assumed that we are now a rich charity.
“But this is not the case.
“The money raised for the second air ambulance was kindly raised through donations from people worldwide responding to Richard Hammond's crash.
“This generosity allowed the Yorkshire Air Ambulance to place a large deposit on a mortgage for the second helicopter through the Yorkshire Bank.’’
The new aircraft was unveiled at Barnsley Football Club.
Paramedic Paul Bradbury said: “I think there were 200 to 300 jobs last year we were unable to attend because either the aircraft was offline or it was already on a job.
“With having a second aircraft we can now hopefully catch those jobs.
“That’s going to be beneficial to anyone who needs us.’’
