MALBOROUGH now has a community night landing site for the Devon Air Ambulance, after a young fundraiser performed the official switch on.

Izzy Martin, 10, who lives in Malborough and has been fundraising for the Devon Air Ambulance for years, was asked to send the message to turn on the lights on Wednesday, February 1pm, at the playing fields.

Representatives of the parish council, the Village Hall and Playing Fields Association, Salcombe Rotary Club and Devon Air Ambulance were also in attendance.

Malborough Parish Council and Malborough Village Hall and Playing Fields Association were ‘delighted’ to have unveiled a new light, which means that Devon Air Ambulance Trust helicopters can land in the village playing fields after dark.

The project has been generously supported by Salcombe Rotary Club with a 50 per cent donation and grant from DAAT, originating from the Libor Bank fines, to cover the installation of the floodlights.

The lights are activated remotely by the Helicopter Emergency Medical services team, based in Exeter, before the helicopter arrives – the lighting helping to identify the landing site for the pilot and to help paramedics when assessing and loading a patient into aircraft.