The East of England Ambulance Service this afternoon called upon the assistance of the Hertfordshire Air Ambulance for the second time today in Stevenage. Paramedics were alerted to a private address on the Great Ashby estate at 1.36pm, after a man had be

The East of England Ambulance Service this afternoon called upon the assistance of the Hertfordshire Air Ambulance for the second time today in Stevenage.

Paramedics were alerted to a private address on the Great Ashby estate at 1.36pm, after a man had been injured in a house.

Ambulance service spokesman Gary Sanderson who attended the incident said: "A man sustained a serious leg injury which required a doctor to stabilise him further at the scene. The air ambulance was called and landed in a nearby playground. The man was treated extensively at the scene by a team of paramedics and a doctor before being taken to the Lister hospital in Stevenage by a land ambulance."

Mr Sanderson added: "The helicopter landing in a playground certainly attracted a very large crowd of curious children and their parents.

"Once again today, the use of the helicopter has been really beneficial to patients. This man required additional pain relief to stabilise his injuries, which the doctor from the aircraft was able to do before moving him to the ambulance."

This morning the air ambulance was called to take a cyclist, injured on London Road, Stevenage, after colliding with a car outside the B&Q store, to Queen's Hospital Romford for treatment to a severe head injury.