Retired Wiltshire policeman Gordon Maddock who is raising money for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance says the service should not be downgraded.

Mr Maddock is giving 25 per cent of the sales of his latest book to the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal.

Last week he was in Devizes to hand over a cheque for £200 towards the appeal based on pre-launch sales of Fuzzy Moonraker Memories.

He said: "I personally think the Government should fund all the emergency services and I don't think the air ambulance should be downgraded. The public deserves excellent service around the clock."

Great Western Ambulance Trust is considering splitting from a shared air ambulance andpolice helicopter, which would mean a dedicated air ambulance would not be able to fly at night.

Mr Maddock is now living in Almeria in Spain, and is an artist. He was in Wiltshire visiting family.

He worked for Wiltshire Constabulary between 1965 and 1983 and was head of CID at Swindon. He moved to Surrey as chief superintendent and retired as assistant chief constable for Devon and Cornwall.

Fuzzy Moonraker Memories is both an anecdotal and a factual record of the police service from the mid 1960s to the mid 1980s and is illustrated with sketches, cartoons and photographs.

The book, which costs £9.99, can be obtained by sending a cheque payable to GDS Maddock at 41 Dorling Drive, Ewell, Surrey, KT17 3BH, adding £2 for P&P.

The air ambulance appeal has also been boosted by £665 raised at a Christmas party for 140 staff and Kennet councillors organised by council chairman Jerry Kunkler at the Corn Exchange, Devizes on December 15.

Mr Kunkler said: "We want to keep the air ambulance in the county. Wiltshire is a rural area and it's desperately needed here.

"I would like to thank all the local businesses which donated prizes for the raffle."