THE community of Okehampton will be helping to save more lives at night time as air ambulance landing lights have been installed at Okehampton’s rugby pitch.

The new lights, which were funded by the Okehampton Lions Club, will enable the pitch to act as an emergency night landing site for Devon Air Ambulance.

Following an appeal from Devon Air Ambulance Trust for parish and town councils across the county to consider developing floodlit community landing sites, the Okehampton Lions Club in partnership with Okehampton Rugby Club took the initiative on board and officially unveiled the new lighting last week.

Devon Air Ambulance Trust had recently been working with communities to develop a network of floodlit landing sites which will enable it to bring a lifesaving service to the heart of communities during the night time

Fitted by Mike Harding Solutions, a lighting company in Okehampton, the installation utilises the existing floodlighting at the rugby ground.

The lights are multi-functioning as they operate as general floodlights as well as enable Devon Air Ambulance to land a helicopter in the dark.

Dave Potter, chairman of Okehampton Rugby Club, said: ‘Devon Air Ambulance are on the look-out for night time landing sites and rugby pitches across the county are proving suitable and useful.

‘The lights at Okehampton rugby club have been fitted with a mobile phone chip in the switch box — meaning that Devon Air Ambulance have the ability to dial the switch board to activate the lights in the middle of the night.

‘The lights enable emergency landing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which is good for the town and will be of benefit to the community.

‘Okehampton Lions Club funded around £1,000 to instal the new LED lights, which have brightened our original floodlighting and can be used by Devon Air Ambulance in cases of emergency.’

Dave added that since the lights had been installed, Devon Air Ambulance had already made an emergency night-time landing in the last month.

Toby Russell, a spokesperson for the Devon Air Ambulance Trust, said: ‘We are extremely grateful to Okehampton Rugby Club and the Okehampton Lions for enabling us to use the rugby pitch as an emergency landing site.

‘The remote switching unit allows us to control the lights and turn them on, if necessary, at night time. This is now one of 32 sites live in Devon and the network of night time landing sites continues to grow.’