Wigan youngster enjoys amazing helicopter experience

A dad from the town has thanked generous air ambulance crews who gave his son a close-up look at their life-saving machine
Ellery Parkinson with the air ambulance helicopterEllery Parkinson with the air ambulance helicopter
Ellery Parkinson with the air ambulance helicopter

Scott Parkinson was driving with his four-year-old son Ellery when he noticed the North West Air Ambulance (NWAA) helicopter had landed at a site just outside Wigan town centre.

Once he had made sure the crew were not attending to someone who had been injured, Scott then took Ellery closer to have a look.

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Scott, from Spring View, said: “We were going out to Warrington and I just spotted the helicopter.

“Ellery is obsessed with helicopters. I showed him and asked if he wanted to walk over and have a look.

“I told him to wave to the crew and they waved back. They then asked him if he wanted to have a look at the helicopter. They asked him his name and we said we had recently been to Diggerland and a paramedic said his two favourite things were diggers and helicopters.

"They asked him if he wanted to have a look inside and they showed him the pilot’s seat.

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“When they were about to take off they said they would go backwards slowly and give him a thumbs-up, which they did.

"Ellery loved it and I enjoyed it as much as he did. It was great. I just want to thank them for taking the time.”

Ellery, who is named after the famous rugby league player Ellery Hanley and goes to Britannia Bridge Primary School, is a huge fan of aircraft of all kinds and can often be found with his family watching planes take off from the viewing park at Manchester Airport.

The North West Air Ambulance has said it was a pleasure to be able to show Ellery around the helicopter.

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A spokesperson for the charity said: “Our supporters are absolutely vital to keeping our helicopters in the air, so it’s always brilliant to see them out and about.

“It was a joy to show Ellery around the aircraft and talk about our work, which is made possible by supporters.

“Usually when we attend missions, our crews aren’t able to provide these opportunities, however in this case, we were not required to provide escort to the hospital, so we were able to chat to Ellery and his dad when they approached us.”

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