Skip to content

'Selfish' resident says air ambulance woke them up

HIOWAA Air ambulanceHIOWAA
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance is a registered charity

A resident who complained about being woken up by an air ambulance has been called "selfish" by social media users.

The unnamed person wrote to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance to ask it to "explain" why they had been flying at 04:00 in the morning.

Twitter users said they were "gobsmacked" at the complaint after the service shared a screenshot.

"It is not our intention to disrupt your evening, but rather save someone's life," the service said.

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read  and  before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The resident said they would no longer donate to the air ambulance, which is a charity, as a result of it being "inconsiderate".

However, hundreds of people came to the air ambulance crew's defence, including a military veteran who said the sound of helicopters triggers his post-traumatic stress disorder.

"But every time I see or hear yours, it helps knowing you're there helping someone," he added.

Another said: "I'm genuinely gobsmacked how somebody could send a message like that to people that are out 24/7, 365 days a year to save lives!"

The air ambulance team responded: "We are genuinely overwhelmed by your kind replies.

"Sadly this isn't the first time we've had a complaint like this and it probably won't be our last, but it's reassuring to know you are there for us."

Presentational grey line

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].