RAF rescue crews on way to Helmland

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The crews are being sent to Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan where they will be used to pilot transport helicopters serving British troops.

Helicopters are a preferred mode of transporting troops because there is less risk of roadside bombs.

Many of Britain's 114 deaths in Afghanistan have been caused by mines, IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) and suicide bombs directed at troops travelling by land.

It is also hoped the extra support will prevent pilots being run into the ground.

But the move will see the number of crews available at each of Britain's six RAF search and rescue stations reduced from five to four.

And it is feared the current ability to respond to emergencies within 15 minutes will be put at risk.

The teams respond to more than a thousand call-outs a year.

Incidents vary from stranded hill walkers to devastating floods, such as those in Boscastle, Cornwall, in 2004.

The crews work alongside four civilian coastguard and two Royal Navy teams, ensuring nowhere in the UK is more than an hour's flight away, or an hour-and-a-half at night.