WILTSHIRE MPs have backed the county’s air ambulance service in a bid to get it £100,000 of owed compensation for the cost of the work it did during the Novichok incident.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance, which is a charity, says it ran up costs of around £100,000 in 2018 as it responded to the incidents following the poisoning of Russian father and daughter Sergei and Yulia Skripal.

But it has been unable to get any grant funding from the government to recover any of these fees, with Westminster claiming "there is no money left".

Now after a plea from the charity, Wiltshire members - including Salisbury MP John Glen and Devizes MP Danny Kruger, have written to Home Secretary Priti Patel asking for her help.

The letter reads: "We write on behalf of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance and enclose a letter which we received from their Chief Executive David Philpott.

"In essence, when the Novichok incident occurred in Salisbury in 2018, the Wiltshire Air Ambulance, which is a charitable organisation, were the first on the scene.

"This has cost them around £100,000 in extraordinary expenses.

"They had been confident of reclaiming this money, as was the case for other local organisations who were also badly affected by the Novichok incident.

"However, they have now been advised that there is no money left for compensation and are therefore facing a strain on finances as a result.

"This, to us as Wiltshire MPs, does seem extremely unfair. We would be most grateful if you, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to whom I am copying this letter, could find some way to compensate this outstanding local charity for the first class work they did in the appalling attack."

A spokesman for Wiltshire Air Ambulance said: “We have written to our local MPs to ask for their support in securing compensation from the Government.

“The helicopter was grounded and the charity’s airbase was closed for two weeks as a precautionary measure to check for cross-contamination. There were a series of costs as a result, including pilots being unable to fly, paramedic cover costs and staff relocation.”

The air ambulance also incurred charges for medical screening, compensation for staff personal belongings and counselling in the wake of attending the incidents.

The spokesman said: “With the airbase locked down, events had to be cancelled due to the lack of access to fundraising equipment. We are very grateful to our Wiltshire MPs for taking this matter up on our behalf and await the response from the Home Secretary’s office.”

Salisbury MP John Glen said: “I am very happy to join with my Wiltshire colleagues in doing all I can to ensure that our wonderful air ambulance service is not disadvantaged as a result of its extraordinary service during the Novichok incident.”

Chippenham MP Michelle Donelan said: “During the terrible and tragic Novichok incident in Salisbury Wiltshire Air Ambulance played a key role as part of the response.

“Unfortunately, they have not been able to recover the costs.

“I have worked with my fellow Wiltshire MPs to write to the Home Secretary asking for Wiltshire Air Ambulance to be properly compensated.”