THE vital work of an air ambulance service which has saved thousands of lives has been thanked for its “amazing work”.

The praise for the Great North Air Ambulance followed a visit to its base at Durham Tees Valley Airport by Richmond’s Tory MP Rishi Sunak.

He met medics, pilots and support staff who frequently make the difference between life and death for seriously ill and injured patients in his sprawling rural constituency.

And during his time at the base he witnessed the team respond to a call for assistance with a child injured in an accident involving a bus on Wearside.

“I was really impressed by the evident professionalism of all involved and fascinated to hear about the innovative work being done in pre-hospital care by medical team,” he said.

He added: “I wanted to thank the Great North Air Ambulance team for the amazing work that they do. I know how many of my constituents really value the service it provides and do what they can to support it.”

Mr Sunak was welcomed to the service’s base by the charity’s chief executive Grahame Pickering, who briefed him on the GNAA’s plans to develop a new operational headquarters and the funding challenges the charity faced.

Mr Sunak promised to support the service’s development plans in any way he could.

The charity has three aircraft serving the North-East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria and is entirely funded by donations and fundraising which last year amounted to £6.2million.