HRH The Duchess of Cornwall is to have a prominent new role in the county as Patron of one of its vital emergency services.

The Duchess will begin her new role as the figurehead of Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust (CAAT) this month.

As the charity’s first official Patron, Her Royal Highness will lend her support to fundraising activities. It is also hoped that she will be able to meet patients who have been airlifted and the paramedics who work on the helicopter every day.

CAAT chief executive, Paula Martin, said: “Everyone at Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust is very proud that The Duchess of Cornwall has become our Patron.

“We have some exciting projects head of us in the next year and the timing of this support is perfect in every way.  This is a brilliant endorsement for a local charity that has served the Cornish community for 23 years and we look forward to welcoming and thanking her in person very soon.”

During a visit to last year’s Royal Cornwall Show in June, The Duchess stopped at the Cornwall Air Ambulance stand.

HRH spent a great deal of time meeting and talking to the volunteers, charity team, fundraisers, patients and the paramedics. She also met with one of the specially trained dispatchers who sends the air ambulance on its emergency missions.

Paula said: “It was an important step for the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust and we felt it was the right thing to do to approach The Duchess of Cornwall in particular.

“We understood that she has a great affinity for the work that air ambulances do and we also know that our rural communities are very fond of her.”

Paul Westaway, director of commercial at Bond, which operates the air ambulance helicopter, said: “We are delighted that the Duchess of Cornwall has agreed her Patronage for the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust, supporting the longest running helicopter Air Ambulance Service in the country.

“We have had the privilege of operating the helicopter for the Charity since its commencement on 1st April 1987 and believe the Service to be vital for the people of Cornwall.”