After months of speculation and hundreds of entries, the name of Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance’s latest helicopter has been revealed.

The charity announced a competition to find the name for their aircraft in August and after nearly one thousand entries, the AW169 helicopter has been named Pegasus.

Pegasus was one of three names shortlisted and was chosen by a panel of judges, including the charity’s patrons, Annie Maw, who is Lord Lieutenant of Somerset and a former patient of the service, Angus Campbell, who is Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, and Bill Sivewright, who is Chief Executive Officer of the charity, among other judges.

Four members of the public submitted the name Pegasus as their preferred choice and according to the charity, they were thrilled to receive a call informing them that their name has been chosen. These were Mark Williams from Frome, Angela Andrews from Wincanton, Poppy Holt from St Dunstan’s School in Glastonbury, and Mrs Fear from Glastonbury.

Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, Annie Maw, said Pegasus is a ‘remarkable’ aircraft and praised the work the charity does.

She added: “It was my absolute pleasure to be part of the judging panel which selected the name for our air ambulance. Nearly 16 years ago, I was rescued from a fog-bound Mendip and on that day the air ambulance team found me by locating the Cathedral in Wells, then following St Thomas Street out of town and up to the top of the hills where they hovered very low in search for me.

“We were miles away, in the middle of inaccessible fields: Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance seemed to descend down in a shaft of sunshine. It was miraculous and something which I will never forget. It’s very possible that the team that day saved my life as I was getting pretty ill. Even if they didn’t prevent me from actually dying, they certainly protected me from having a higher level of paralysis by the way they moved onto the stretcher and into the helicopter.”

“If it hadn’t been done by someone as experience and capable as they were, more of my spinal cord would have been damaged and I might have ended up unable to use my arms and hands. I will always be undyingly grateful, and it is my absolute pleasure to be one of the Charity’s Patrons. ‘Pegasus’ is a remarkable aircraft, which I know will help the team to do remarkable things.”

An art competition was held alongside the naming competition and saw children from local schools take part.

The winner of the under 5s category was Lola Kwan from Hindhayes Infant School in Street. The runners up were Brandon West and Keira Allen.

The winner of the aged 6-11 category was Rebekah Joy Fairweather from Bishop Henderson School in Coleford. The runners up were Clementine Sophie Smith and Roxanna Bateman.

The winner of the aged 12-17 category was Ho Him Xu from St Mary’s C.E Middle School in Puddletown. The runners up were Emily Payne and Olivia Elvy.