Patients rescued by Wiltshire Air Ambulance were reunited with the crew members who saved them at the unveiling of its new helicopter today.

The state-of-the-art Bell 429 helicopter is the first of its kind to operate as an air ambulance in the UK.

It was built in Canada and flew into land before an expectant crowd in Salisbury.

There was much rejoicing as the aircraft, with the distinctive yellow and green colours of Wiltshire Air Ambulance, touched down on the lawn at Trafalgar Park.

Among those waiting to see the aircraft and its latest in-flight technology and trauma care equipment was Dave Haines, 32, from Stratton, Swindon, who was airlifted to hospital in Bath, where he spent two months after coming off his motorbike on the A420 between Chippenham and Allington in 2004.

He only managed to walk unaided for the first time five years and 14 days after the accident.

But he did not give up riding motorbikes and is now an instructor for the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

The Network Rail signalman said: “Without the care and treatment of the air ambulance crew and their amazing flying machine, I would not be here today.

"The new one is stunning; I hope it will draw more attention to the charity."

The helicopter was officially welcomed to the county by Sarah Rose Troughton, the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire.

She said: “I am delighted to mark this new and exciting chapter for the charity, just before it celebrates its silver jubilee next year.

"It has been on 15,000 missions since it entered service in 1990, and saved the lives of hundreds of people across Wiltshire.”

She thanked Wiltshire Police for their 24-year partnership with the joint air ambulance and surveillance helicopter, which comes to an end this December as the police join the National Police Air Service, and for allowing the new Bell 429 to continue to operate from Devizes Police HQ for the next three years until they can find a suitable site elsewhere.

Master of ceremonies Graham Rogers, of BBC Wiltshire, said: “What I find stunning is that the moment it gets a call, it can be anywhere in the county it is needed in just 11 minutes.

“Far and away we get more events told to us for the air ambulance than for any other organisation in the county, and frankly I say thank goodness for that and long may it continue.”

Mandy Clarke, WAA chair of trustees, said: “Thank you to the scores of volunteers who have shaken buckets, given talks and manned the shops. It is a real combined team effort.”

Sebastien Moulin, regional manager Europe of Bell Helicopter, said: “We are extremely proud to be the new partner of Wiltshire Air Ambulance in this project.

“We are here to perform life-saving missions in the Wiltshire community, to make sure they have peace of mind knowing they are backed by an industry leading aircraft.”

The new helicopter is due in service on January 1, 2015.

See a video inteview with David Haines here