by business editor Trevor Sturgess

tsturgess@thekmgroup.co.uk

Flying at night to save more lives is high on the list of priorities for Kent's new air ambulance boss.

Adrian Bell, 48, is retiring as a senior Royal Navy officer to take the helm of the Marden-based service which now covers Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

He said that 24-hour response was important but admitted that there were funding and safety issues.

"We've got to look at all the options and make sure we don't endanger safety."

Tony Monteuuis, chairman of Kent Air Ambulance Trust (KAAT), said lives had been lost because the helicopter was not available for night-flying.

"Every time we can't send a helicopter to a crucial road accident in the middle of the night, somebody may die who would have lived had we been able to get an air ambulance there and deal with it. It's as stark as that."

Night-flying could add an extra £3m to the existing £3.4m cost of running the service, but he hoped it would be introduced within five years.

Mr Bell, a married father-of-two who served in the Falklands War and leaves his present appointment as Commander British Forces Gibraltar to join KAAT, paid tribute to the volunteers and donors who supported the service so generously.

"I'm humbled by the volunteers who give so freely of their time and effort, come rain, come shine, no matter how exciting or mundane the task is."

He admitted that raising the money was tough in challenging economic times, but was confident that "we are in a good position to weather these challenges".

"I want to build on the 20-plus years of success of the air ambulance and ensure we continue to be at the forefront of the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) and the air ambulance service in the UK."