Helicopter in mercy flight

The helicopter took the patient to Southmead Hospital

A rescue helicopter flew to the aid of a north Devon man who had been waiting five years for a kidney transplant operation.

When a suitable donor kidney became available, an ambulance was sent to the patient's home in Peters Marland, near Torrington.

But snow prevented the vehicle from getting through.

A helicopter from RAF Chivenor was then scrambled and flew the patient to Southmead Hospital in Bristol where surgeons were waiting to carry out the operation.

The Westcountry Ambulance Service first got the call to the patient's home - a remote farmhouse - on Tuesday morning.

But ambulance staff found the route blocked by snow and ice.

The RAF then scrambled the helicopter in an effort to get the man to hospital as quickly as possible.