THE GREAT WESTERN AIR AMBULANCE CHARITY is currently seeking funds to support the 'Buy Our Base' campaign.

The charity is currently functioning out of their site on Filton Airfield, however the base is now not meeting the needs of the increasingly busy service.

A new base, just the other side of the M5 in Almondsbury, is currently being constructed and the charity want to raise funds to buy it.

The new site will allow the organisation to continue their good work, whilst also dealing with the increase in demand of the service they provide. On average, the service is called on five times a day. However this summer that has increased to over 12 calls on average.

The current air base is the oldest functioning hangar in the country, having been in use since before WW1, so obviously the charity is looking to move on to a more suitable home. Filton Airfield is also due to be redeveloped, so the site would no longer be able to host the charity and their operations.

Watch: Footage showing the building this incredible charity is working out of.

The current landlord of the airfield, BAE systems, has decided to build the new air base in Almondsbury. However they have now offered the charity the chance to buy the site for a much lower price than the development has cost. This will help to sustain the future of the GWAAC.

There have been large numbers of people supporting the move of air base with Lady Bathurst, owner of Cirencester Park Estate, joining the 'Buy Our Base' appeal as a patron. She is calling for everyone in the area to 'show their support' for a vital organisation.

"This is a unique opportunity, and a vital one, to ensure the longevity of our wonderful Great Western Air Ambulance Charity." She said.

"To provide a permanent home will give us all the security of knowing this amazing service will be there for decades to come, not just the last ten years. This move will literally save lives, hundreds, even thousands and I hope the community which the GWAAC serves will support the appeal wholeheartedly.

"None of us know whether we will one day need the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity’s help, and I hope none of us ever do – but there are many who would have been lost if GWAAC had not been there in their hour of need; let us all get behind them in theirs."

The charity provides the Critical Care and Air Ambulance service to 2.1 million people across the counties of Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and surrounding areas. They receive no day-to-day funding from the Government or National Lottery.

The team consists of highly skilled Critical Care Doctors and Specialist Paramedics in Critical Care, who are able to carry out life-saving interventions such as blood transfusions, and administer anaesthetics, at the scene of an incident – in effect bringing the skills you would usually find in an Accident & Emergency department to your garden, the roadside, a park or your home.

To find out more and donate to the Buy Our Base appeal visit buyourbase.co.uk.