A YORK museum will be used as a "strategic base" for the air ambulance helicopter during the winter, the Evening Press can reveal today.

At certain times during the winter, the 140mph helicopter and its three-strong team will be based at the Yorkshire Air Museum, in Elvington.

It is normally on standby at Leeds Bradford Airport in West Yorkshire.

The move has been welcomed by bosses at the museum, who have described it as "a major coup."

And a trial run carried out at the museum yesterday saw the helicopter airborne just 90 seconds after an emergency call came in.

A spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service said: "There are a number of factors behind the decision to use Elvington as a strategic base. These include whether there are big events taking place in the North Yorkshire area, or what the weather conditions are on any given day."

The spokeswoman said "it was too early to specify" exactly which months the air ambulance would be at Elvington.

But she said: "It is similar to the system we use in the summer, when the ambulance is sometimes based in Scarborough because of the number of people in that area at that time.

"The air ambulance serves the whole of the county and there are times when it is appropriate to have it on standby at places other than Leeds Bradford.

"This decision gives us more options. It is the speed of the aircraft that makes it such a lifesaver, so anything that can help it get where it needs to be more quickly is good for the service and good for patients."

Museum spokesman Ian Richardson said: "It is quite a major coup for the museum. It recognises the infrastructure in place and the level of service we can provide here.

"Elvington and the museum are slap bang in the middle of the area covered by the air ambulance, so it seems we were the logical choice as a strategic base."

Mr Richardson said he had seen yesterday's 90 second lift off, describing it as "very impressive indeed."

Updated: 08:46 Wednesday, November 21, 2001