DEVON Air Ambulance Trust is proposing to install floodlighting on the playing field at Hatherleigh Football Club to allow its helicopter to land after dark.

The charity has applied to West Devon Borough Council for planning permission to put up two floodlights and a remote switching unit.

Activated using a mobile phone SIM card, it means the pilots can switch the lights on and off from the cockpit before they arrive and after they fly away.

If the planners give the green light, it will mean that the air ambulance can respond to emergencies in the town right up until midnight.

The application will be decided at a future meeting of West Devon Borough Council’s development control and licensing committee.