Night-time landing upgrade for helipad dedicated to teenager

An emergency helicopter pad built in memory of a teenager who died from flu and sepsis has been upgraded to enable night-time landings.

Bethany Walker, 18, from Applecross in Wester Ross, died in January 2018.

A helicopter was involved in the effort to save Bethany's life, but the only available landing site in the village was an empty pub car park.

The landing pad built next to Applecross fire station in 2021 now has lighting to facilitate landings at night and in poor visibility.

The new lights were installed following a £9,000 donation from the Help Appeal, a charity that funds the construction of hospital landing pads.

Chief executive Robert Bertram said: “As soon as we heard that Applecross helipad urgently needed lighting, we agreed to fund immediately.

"People can become seriously ill or injured any time of the day or night."

Fundraising and donations, including from the Help Appeal, covered the £60,000 cost of constructing the pad and initial running costs.

Bethany's mum Heather Teale set up a community fund which raised £15,000.

It included a donation from actor Hugh Grant who offered his help after hearing about Bethany's story.

Bethany was flown to hospital in Inverness in 34 minutes after she became severely ill. The journey by road could have taken more than two hours.

The air ambulance that flew Bethany to Raigmore Hospital had to land in a pub car park, which was fortunately empty at the time but would normally have been full of cars.

Bethany died after contracting the flu virus which developed into sepsis.

Applecross' helipad is available to the Scottish Ambulance Service and coastguard rescue helicopters.

It was used for the first time in May 2021 when an Inverness Coastguard search and rescue helicopter landed at the pad during the rescue of woman who had been injured in a fall.