A THREE-YEAR campaign by a Neilston ambulance worker has paid dividends after a new £270,000 hospital helipad was cleared for take-off.

Residents of Campbeltown, in Argyll and Bute, who need emergency treatment have to be airlifted to Glasgow, Clydebank or Paisley – some 150 miles away.

Until last week, helicopters had to land up to three times a day in a muddy playing field, leading to delays for patients.

Stuart McLellan, who has lived in Neilston all his life, came up with the helipad idea in 2018 while visiting relatives in Campbeltown.

He launched a campaign to raise the £270,000 needed to build the helipad and lobbied council chiefs for planning permission.

Construction work which began on January 11 finished on March 31, ahead of schedule, and three successful test flights were carried out the following day.

Stuart, 28, said he is delighted the new helipad is now ready to welcome air ambulances.

“It’s been a three-year battle to have this helipad built because, at first, no-one in authority wanted anything to do with it,” he added.

Funding was provided through the Helicopter Emergency Landing Pads (HELP) Appeal, run by the County Air Ambulance Trust.

Stuart added: “The demand for this service has never been greater, particularly with the number of Covid patients needing airlifted.

“It also means ambulance crews no longer have to worry about getting stuck in the grass."

Stuart has worked for the Scottish Ambulance Service for the last nine years and is currently a technician in Kilmarnock.

He is also part of a team of first responders who go out to emergencies in the Neilston area to assist paramedics.

The official opening of the helipad will take place on June 12.