AIR ambulance chiefs insisted yesterday that patients were not being put in danger by the lack of a suitable landing site in a North-East town.

The Great North Air Ambulance is reluctant to land at its approved site on Abbey Road playing fields, in Darlington, after receiving complaints from a resident about noise.

He threatened to take action over the disruption - forcing the helicopter to take patients to James Cook University Hospital or Middlesbrough General Hospital.

Although officials say they would use Abbey Road in extreme circumstances, they are reluctant to land there following the complaint.

Officials are scouring Darlington, looking for a better landing site - possibly closer to the Memorial Hospital.

The airborne 999 crew can alert emergency services to an incoming patient in Darlington, but can face a further wait for ambulances to reach Abbey Road, before making the short trip to the hospital.

Chief executive Grahame Pickering said: "There is just not an adequate site in Darlington. It is fair to say we are still looking, but we would never get one right outside the hospital."

While the likes of James Cook Hospital have landing sites on its premises, the Memorial Hospital cannot accommodate such a facility at present.

Mr Pickering said: "The difference in flying time between here and Teesside is three minutes, but you could get to Darlington and then wait at Abbey Road for 15 minutes for an ambulance.

"It is not detrimental to patient care and, in fact, at the moment, in this part of the country, we are well off for good landing sites."

Air ambulance drops in to collect Lent lunch proceeds

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance landed at Easby Abbey, on the banks of the Swale, in North Yorkshire, yesterday, where paramedics were presented with a cheque for £1,000.

The money was raised by congregations from churches at Easby, Skeeby, Bolton-on-Swale and Brompton-on-Swale with a series of Lent lunches.

"We pick a local charity each year and, since we have all seen or read about the Yorkshire Air Ambulance saving lives across the area, we felt it richly deserved our support," said Skeeby churchwarden Brenda Hall.

Fundraising director John Sutherland said: "People living in a rural area like this clearly understand the vital need to keep the helicopter in use.

"We have to raise more than £1m a year to keep the aircraft operational."