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An air ambulance service has said 2023 was its busiest year on record.

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) responded to 2,124 incidents last year - about 260 more than in 2022.

The bulk of the callouts were to road traffic collisions, cardiac arrests and assaults.

GNAAS chief executive David Stockton said the increase in callouts was due to the service launching a round the clock service at the start of last year.

In January 2023, GNAAS began operating all week across the north-east of England and is looking to increase its service in Cumbria from the four nights a week it currently offers.

Mr Stockton said: “We’re very proud of the fact that we have been operating a 24/7 service in the North East for over a year and we’re hoping to replicate this in Cumbria in the coming months."

The charity provides an air ambulance service across the region during daylight hours and from 8pm to 8am the team transfers to a rapid response car.

Mr Stockton said: “Our rapid response vehicles were deployed nearly 300 times more last year in comparison to 2022.

"This is a direct result of our night-time expansion and just proves how vital it is for our team to be able to deliver a high level of pre-hospital care to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

GNAAS's critical care teams, based in Eaglescliffe in County Durham and Penrith in Cumbria, responded to incidents in the North East, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Cumbria, Scotland and the Isle of Man.

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