Army helicopters land at Leeds General Infirmary to help in the battle against coronavirus

Bob Peters captured these images of the choppers landing in Leeds City Centre on Wednesday, April 1.

The army is delivering "key personnel" to West Yorkshire as part of its coronavirus response, a spokeswomen for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) said.

Military helicopters are being deployed across the country to support the NHS in the fight against Covid-19, the Government announced yesterday (Tuesday).

The aircraft have been made available to evacuate critically ill patients as well as moving equipment and medical personnel around the country.

They include three RAF Pumas which have been stationed at Kinloss Barracks in Moray, Scotland.

They will work with a Chinook and Wildcat based at RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire to provide assistance across Scotland and northern England.

A second facility working out of the aviation task force headquarters at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire will provide cover for the Midlands and southern England.

Chinook and Wildcat helicopters normally based RAF Odiham and RNAS Yeovilton will also be available to provide support across the South.

Speaking at the daily No 10 press conference on Tuesday, Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said a RAF A400M transport aircraft had already been used to evacuate a critically ill patient from the Shetland Islands to Aberdeen.

"These helicopter facilities are being set up to support medical transport across Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom," he said.

"The task force is also available for general support such as moving equipment and personnel to where they are needed."

A spokesperson for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “The army was delivering key personnel to West Yorkshire as part of the military’s response to the COVID-19 situation in the region.”