MINUTES can be critical in an emergency. The speed at which emergency services can reach a patient can make the difference between life and death.

Now, thanks to their own fundraising efforts, Hampshire residents finally get their fourth emergency service - when the county's air ambulance takes to the skies for the first time this weekend.

The helicopter will respond to some of the most serious accidents and injuries across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight - and could be used to transport critically-ill patients between hospitals and move seriously-ill babies and children back to Southampton from around the country for more specialist care.

It can be up in the air within two minutes and is capable of landing virtually anywhere It's a reality that is somewhat difficult to believe for Dr Charles Deakin, the medical director of South Central Ambulance Service whose pipedream it was six years ago.

Having worked in the capital where he trained and flew with the London Air Ambulance, he came to Hampshire in 1994 and set about laying the foundations for a similar service for the county.

After tentative inquiries, which didn't receive a major enthusiastic response, the idea was first properly aired in 2001 - and now, six years later Hampshire is the last place in the country to get its own state-of-the-art air ambulance off the ground.

Dr Deakin, 43, who also works as a consultant anaesthetist at Southampton General Hosptial, told the Daily Echo: "I came here and could see the benefits of having an air ambulance and it became something I was keen to get sorted, but it wasn't really a priority here back then and there wasn't a great deal of enthusiasm historically. There was definitely some reluctance, probably because we had no helipads in the region.

"It's been a long haul. When we started talking about how much it was going to cost we were looking at having to raise £1m a year."

But determined to push on with the idea, in 2001 the then Hampshire Ambulance was approached by colleagues in Dorset and Somerset who offered help.

Three years later a charity called Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance was formed with a view to raising the vital cash to buy the helicopter and securing the funds to keep it operational.

"Without them it's fair to say we wouldn't have been able to do it. It's one thing having the enthusiasm, but another being able to set up the infrastructure."

Trustees were appointed and with the help of a grant from the Department of Health for £112,000, two fundraisers were appointed.

A weekly lottery draw was launched - people were asked to pay £1 each week and such was the support that more than 15,000 people have now signed up.

"It was the biggest and most important thing for our fundraising and it's been phenomenal," said Dr Deakin.

"The public support has been overwhelming. Without that we would never be at this stage - just days from it actually launching."

The charity also received a donation of £14,000 from Skandia Cowes Week and has been given money from other organisations which have held events including golf days.

"It was a flat start. There was no other capital from anywhere and no other grants or sponsorship like other areas of the country received.

"It's been an uphill challenge and it's very rewarding that we have got this far," said Dr Deakin.

But the challenge will not stop here.

The helicopter is the smaller of two that are available. It will cost £60,000 a month to run and will be staffed by a team of paramedics recruited in Hampshire and paid for by South Central NHS.

For the time being it will only fly five days a week - every day except Tuesday and Wednesday which are noticeably quieter days for the crews - and during limited flying times of 10am and 6pm.

It will not fly at night because of the dangers of helicopters flying into crowded spaces in the dark but is predicted to carry out around 20 hours of flying each month.

Dr Deakin said: "Once the profile has been raised we hope that more money will start to come in so we can expand our service to seven days a week.

"The helicopter we have bought is a smaller one of those available, but it's very effective in terms of getting paramedics and crews around the county to respond quickly.

"Eventually we hope to upgrade to a faster, bigger and more modern one but for that to happen we need more money."

The helicopter, pilot and paramedics will be based at Thruxton despite attempts to have it centralised in Southampton.

Discussions have already taken place between the charity and Southampton Airport who refused to allow the air ambulance to be stationed there because of a lack of space.

Dr Deakin said: "It was a real pity because the airport would have been an ideal location. However, we are looking for alternatives. Ultimately the goal is to have a helipad at Southampton General Hosptal outside the emergency department and to have the helicopter fly here in the morning and be based on site and respond from here.

"It's the ideal place as this hospital is the main centre in the south for major trauma and building a helipad is something being considered. It would be great as we really need to be able to land near to the emergency department and we are working on that."

He added: "I never thought we would get to this stage because it was such a huge amount of work.

"It's only thanks to tremendous support from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight community that we are where we are and it's so good to know we have done it."

Although the service went live across the skies of Hampshire today, an official launch of the specialist helicopter will be held next month at Beaulieu.