A YORKSHIRE Air Ambulance (YAA) crew member suffered a burn on his cornea in a "reckless" and "wholly unacceptable" laser attack.

Over the course of a single week, YAA experienced three separate and deliberate assaults where lasers were shone at crews going about their life-saving work.

Last Friday evening, during a transit flight back to the Nostell air base, in Foulby, outside Wakefield, YAA technical crew member Alex Clark became a victim of the latest laser strike.

The beam managed to hit Alex in one of his eyes - resulting in a burn on his cornea.

Although he is now on the path to a full recovery, his injury emphasises the threats faced by YAA's crew members.

YAA chief pilot Owen McTeggart said: "If we get a laser attack while trying to land at the site of an incident, it means we cannot land and the injured person on the ground doesn't get the care that we are there to provide.

"It doesn't take much for the eyes to be permanently damaged by a laser - and while the laser itself might not be a danger if it doesn't contact the eyes, it is a massive distraction for the crew during a critical stage of flight and causes much distress.

"A lot of it is ignorance to the implications it can have on our operations.

"And I'm sure most people that point a laser at a helicopter think it's just a laugh and no harm is caused.

"But it can, in some cases, have life-changing consequences for the pilot, the crew, and, if it's an air ambulance under threat, the patient in the back whose life they are trying to save."

Mike Harrop, YAA chairman, urged those responsible for the attacks to consider their actions and the potential harm they are causing. 

He said: "The safety and well-being of YAA's dedicated crew members and patients are non-negotiable priorities.  

"Our crew shouldn't feel fearful of flying on a shift at YAA, all because someone somewhere finds it amusing to shine lasers at aircraft or they are ignorant to the dangers they are putting our crew in. 

"Regardless of whether YAA are being deliberately targeted or mistaken for another helicopter, it is wholly unacceptable for one of our crew members to suffer an injury due to someone else's reckless actions."

Last week, the T&A reported that a laser was fired at YAA in the Baildon area earlier this month.