DORSET Air Ambulance was at the centre of its own emergency when the pilot had to abandon a flight with a seriously ill patient on board.

Ambulance staff had to quickly change their plans after the helicopter developed a fault as it was about to take off from the Swannery car park in Weymouth yesterday afternoon.

The patient on board, a man aged in his 40s who had suffered a fit nearby, was put into a land ambulance and given a police escort to Dorset County Hospital, Dorchester.

The helicopter crew remained at the car park with the aircraft until an engineer arrived to assess the fault.

The brightly-coloured helicopter drew a crowd of people who took photographs and chatted to the crew.

A spokesman for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance said: "The patient's injuries were so serious that it was decided to call in the helicopter.

"On start-up with the patient on board the pilot noticed a warning light and he stood the aircraft down. The crew liaised with ambulance staff and the patient was taken off and conveyed by land ambulance to hospital."

The spokesman said the helicopter's flying schedule would depend on the engineer's assessment.

If necessary a replacement helicopter will be brought in to act as cover.