AIR Ambulance expert David Philpott was appalled that the Wiltshire Air Ambulance could be axed.

Mr Philpott, chairman of the Association of Air Ambulance Charities, said: "What benefit is it to the people of Wiltshire to have an air ambulance based at Filton? It would be a tragedy if the Wiltshire Air Ambulance was lost."

The Wiltshire Air Ambulance is one of only two air ambulances in the country to operate at night due to the specialist equipment that is onboard the helicopter.

Mr Philpott said: "Wiltshire Air Ambulance is able to work at night, this is the holy grail of Air Ambulance work all over the world."It beggars belief that a service that is providing cover through the night should be under threat at a time when the Air Ambulance Charities, the Department of Health and ambulance trusts are launching a framework document this summer aimed at an integrated and joined up approach for air ambulances.

"The Wiltshire Air Ambulance is a service that has a good tradition of support and successful delivery record and it does seem crazy that it is under threat.

Mr Philpott said he hoped the money in the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal coffers, just over £1 million, would not be used to pay for a new air ambulance based at Filton.

He said: "If that happened it would be an outrage. These funds have been raised by the people of Wiltshire for Wiltshire Air Ambulance. To use them for any other purpose would be nothing short of daylight robbery."

Mr Philpott, who is also chief executive of Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance, sits on the scientific committee of the European Association of all Air Ambulance Operators.

Mr Philpott is not a medic but is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.

He said: "The journey time by air from Filton to Salisbury is 20 minutes and 15 minutes to Swindon. In this business minutes matter and unnecessary delays can have serious implications for the patients' outcome."