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Air ambulance sees £10,000 rise in jet fuel bill

Tamsin MelvilleCornwall
BBC A white jet fuel tank is in the foreground with orange and black lettering, behind is the red and yellow Cornwall Air Ambulance parked outside the hangarBBC
Cornwall Air Ambulance helicopters attend more than 1,000 call outs a year and can use up to 500 litres of fuel per mission

Cornwall Air Ambulance says it is facing an extra £10,000 on its monthly fuel bill to keep its two helicopters flying.

The cost of fuel has seen sharp increases globally since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February.

The charity's helicopters are tasked to more than 1,000 incidents a year and can use between 250 and 500 litres of fuel per mission.

Head of operations Alf Evans said the fuel price hikes were having a "huge impact" not just on the helicopters but "across the charity's operations".

"In the last month we have seen the cost of jet fuel double, but that's not the only thing," he said.

"We've got our critical care cars, our van that goes around the county picking up all the collection boxes, and we've also got the retail shops where delivering and picking up donations is going on every day," he explained.

Head of marketing and communications Jonathan Michael said the seven shops around Cornwall are " absolutely vital" in helping the charity towards its £9m annual target.

"We're currently spending an extra £1,000 a month on fuel for our retail operation just to be able to go and collect furniture and drop it off, " he explained.

"And in the event there are fuel shortages we have started to talk about how we could operate if people can't get to work and the shops have to shut."

A middle aged man with grey hair that is long on top looking straight at the camera, you can see his head and shoulders and he is not smiling. He is standing outside an aircraft hangar wearing a fluorescent jacket and a grey shirt. In the background you can see part of a white fuel tank and a red and yellow Cornwall Air Ambulance on the ground.
Head of Operations Alf Evans said they get their aviation fuel via neighbouring Cornwall Airport Newquay

Fuel prices have stopped rising after 43 days of rises according to the RAC.

Petrol is now selling for just over 158p a litre on average, up from 133p in late February, while diesel has risen from 142p a litre to 192p, the motoring organisation said.

Both are at their most expensive level in more than three years.

Alf Evans said the charity was "getting hit from all sides" as it faced the impact of fuel price hikes along with its supporters.

"The people of Cornwall are so generous but we've got to think if this goes on it impacts them too so there would be less money for them to give," he said.

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