DEVON Air Ambulance has stood down its aircraft for the duration of the coronavirus crisis – but its paramedics will still be responding by car.

The decision has been made because of the difficulty of protecting pilots from potential coronavirus infection.

CEO Heléna Holt said: ‘Standing down our aircraft has been a very difficult decision for us to make but one we have had to take in order to protect all of our crew. Whilst the paramedics wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when treating and conveying patients, our pilots cannot operate the aircraft wearing PPE. They also cannot maintain a two-metre distance between them and the patient. As we have no way of knowing whether a patient has coronavirus, this leaves them completely exposed within a small confined space. We hope our community will understand that this is an unacceptable risk.’