A 'vital' piece of equipment worth almost £3,000 was stolen from an air ambulance crew while they were dealing with an emergency in West Yorkshire.
The flight helmet was taken from the back of the helicopter while the crew were responding to a 999 call in Shipley on Thursday, August 8.
It was returned to Yorkshire Air Ambulance, a charity that relies on donations, later that night but had been badly damanged. It will now need to be replaced.
The charity already needs around £12,000 per day to keep both of Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s helicopters maintained and operational.
Abby Barmby, director of communications, said: "We were appalled to hear that one of our valuable flight helmets was stolen from the back of our helicopter whilst our crew were responding to an emergency 999 call last night in Shipley.
"We understand that a group of youths were involved, and cannot comprehend why they felt it necessary to take such a vital piece of our equipment.
"Our flight helmets are specialist and vital pieces of equipment all our crews wear in flight.
"Not only are they worn for protection and safety purposes, they are also worn so the crews can communicate with each other in flight.
"Each helmet is bespoke to our crew members and cost in the region of £2,700.
"Unfortunately it looks like there has been too much damage done to this helmet and it will now need replacing."
She added: "As an independent Charity who relies on charitable donations to help fund our vital work, having to replace costly items of equipment that have been unnecessarily damaged for no justifiable reason is extremely disheartening."
You can make a donation to support Yorkshire Air Ambulance here.
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