New Croydon mayor Graham Bass reached for the sky with one of the first engagements on his mayoral rota.

Councillor Bass and his wife Jean met pilots, medical and support staff from London’s Air Ambulance during a special visit to the roof of the team’s Whitechapel base.

The service was needed at 55 emergencies in Croydon last year, and has been called to more than 25,000 incidents in the 22 years since it was founded.

Coun Bass said: “It was a privilege to meet these dedicated lifesavers and to thank them for the work they do, particularly for Croydon, where they responded on average more than once a week over the course of last year.

“We learnt a lot about the type and severity of incidents that the air ambulance is called out to, and the work that’s involved in dealing with what are often very complex injuries.”

The Mayor’s other nominated charity is the Croydon Dyslexia Association.