People are so excited at seeing the Essex Air Ambulance arrive that they are going dangerously close to the helicopter's high-speed rotors, say worried crew members.

They appealed this week for people to stay away from the aircraft and wait for the crews to come to them.

The main danger is of someone being accidentally seriously injured or killed by the spinning tail-rotor, they say.

Crew member Steve Colmer said: "We often have to scream to people to keep away and, of course, with the sound of the engine, they sometimes can't hear or comprehend what we mean, and get too close for comfort.

"We appeal to members of the public to keep away. We may be the angel arriving to save people's lives, but the angel can have a deadly sting in her tail.

"It is when we land in populated areas that the danger is greatest. People approach us thinking to help, but they are putting themselves in serious danger. It really worries us when children start riding their bikes towards us.

"Even people with 20 years' army experience are very careful when they get near aircraft.

"Once the engines have stopped and we have done our job, we are only too pleased to conduct people for a closer look but, before that, the danger cannot be overstated. Please keep away."

The comments followed a busy weekend during which the helicopter was greeted by residents in Pitsea and Mersea.

It also landed in Burnham-on- Crouch, to take a collapsed woman to Colchester Hospital, and on St Peter's School playing field, also Burnham, where a student had broken a leg while playing football and could not be reached easily by road ambulance.

Both these incidents were well controlled by police and school staff, and there was no danger to the public from the rotors, said Mr Colmer.

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