Do you support the air ambulance?

Today marks the start of National Air Ambulance Week, the seven-day annual drive to raise awareness for the charities which put rescue helicopters into the skies to save lives.

Last year the week-long campaign went down a storm on the internet thanks to a string of celebrities backing it.

High profile actors, sports stars, politicians and TV personalities all created short videos urging people to support their local ambulance, which were shared thousands of times over on Twitter of Facebook.

Midlands Air Ambulance, which has the largest coverage area in the UK, was at the forefront of the social media frenzy.

The charity's total reach - people who saw the posts mentioning the campaign - clocked in at 1,402,337.

The top video on their Facebook page was created by the charity's fundraising team and mascot which was viewed by 23,592 people and liked 80 times.

The next most popular entry was the Drayton Manor team's effort which raked in nearly 15,000 views and more than 60 likes, while the video plea made by TV personality Rustie Lee reached 12,000 people.

Now the campaign is back and people in the Black Country and Staffordshire have once again been called upon to show their support for their Midlands Air Ambulance.

The charity oversees a population of around five million people across Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

Yet its crews, made up of a pilot, two paramedics or flight doctors, can get to any location in that area within 19 minutes and the vast majority or places within eight.

Most will be all too familiar with road traffic collisions on the M6, M5, M54 and M6 Toll dissecting Staffordshire and the Black Country - well so are the Midlands Air Ambulance.

Every year crews attend more than 1,000 road incidents on the motorways and surrounding roads.

You can double that figure taking into account the total missions carried out every 12 months.

And all that is done with just three helicopters which are based at RAF Cosford in Shifnal, Tatenhill airbase near Burton-on-Trent, and Strensham Services off the M5 in Worcestershire.

On average each aircraft is called out three times a day dealing with all types of incidents.

In a typical year 240 people are airlifted after a fall, 110 people with sports injuries are tended to and crews respond to around 40 people who have suffered from an agricultural incident.

It is estimated the Midlands Air Ambulance airlifts a child every four days.

But all that comes at an eye-watering cost of more than £6.5million a year for a charity which receives no Government funding.

The Herculean task of keeping the rotor blades turning falls on the shoulders of a small team of around a dozen fundraisers mainly based at the charity office in Lye, Stourbridge.

Considering the scale of the fundraising challenge every year, National Air Ambulance Week has become a major opportunity to raise the charity's profile.

Hanna Sebright, chief executive of Midlands Air Ambulance, said: "This week is all about raising awareness about what we do.

"I think most people are unaware that the Midlands Air Ambulance does not benefit from any Government or national lottery funding.

The Midlands Air Ambulance has a long-term aspiration to extend its daytime cover to providing rescues during the night, 365 days a year.

The charity's three aircraft attend an average of 2,000 incidents every 12 months, responding to incidents between 7am and 9pm each day.

Before September 2014, helicopters only flew for 10 hours in winter months.

But bosses estimate there is the potential for an additional 100 missions a year if they were to provide around the clock emergency cover.

The charity has spent recent years researching the potential demand for the service and in September last year performed its first night-time patient flight.

Since then, crews have completed dozens more missions after sunset during ongoing pilot operations.

But while the charity is doing their bit to make 24/7 operating hours a reality, the network of helipads with the necessary lighting remains an obstacle.

Air operations manager Becky Tinsley said: "As well as providing crucial emergency support throughout the day, being able to fly between lit hospital helipads within our extended operating hours throughout the year is significant for the Midlands Air Ambulance charity.

"This has only been possible due to the tremendous support we receive from the public and the hospitals that have provided lit helipad landing sites, but there is still a long way to go in improving the lit helipad network across the region.

"After considerable clinical and operational research into the increasing demand for the service, we have invested a portion of the public's donations to make this possible and we are delighted to have seen such a benefit so quickly.

"Undertaking full air ambulance missions at night is part of our strategic plan but we cannot achieve this goal without further aircrew training, equipment and a more robust lit helipad network, which is why the continued support of the public is required, now more than ever."

It is estimated providing night-time flights will costs in the region of £1.6 million a year.

Ms Tinsley added: "A patient's chances of recovery are proven to be dramatically increased if they are able to receive urgent medical attention within 60 minutes of injury or sooner, which is known as the golden hour.

"Our mission is to help ensure that as many people as possible receive treatment and being able to transport patients in a way never before possible during the hours of darkness is absolutely vital."

"Everything we do is paid for by donations and fundraising. We get a lot of gifts in wills. We also have two charity shops in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Wellington.

"They are very effective in generating revenue and we have another opening in West Bromwich at the end of October.

"But considering we are totally reliant on donations from the public, this week of raising our public profile is one of our most important times of the whole year."

The sky is the limit in terms of how people can get behind the charity this week.

Since 2012, when the national event launched, many enthusiasts from schoolchildren to businessmen have chosen to dress up as a superhero as well as 'going red or yellow' by holding themed events based on the organisation's colours.

But last year's social media drive has now made supporting National Air Ambulance Week easier than ever.

Now all people have to do is grab a smartphone and film themselves saying eight simple words: 'I support my local air ambulance, do you?'

The next step is to share the video on Facebook or Twitter including @MAA_Charity in the post as well the hashtag #NAAW2015.

Sounds silly? Well Hollywood star Ray Winstone didn't think so, nor did English football legend Ian Wright or Harry Potter's Fred Weasley aka actor James Phelps - just some of the high profile names who got in front of the camera to pledge their support last year.

England women's football star Sue Smith and former royal correspondent Jenny Bond are among others that feature in a celebrity video montage for the charity.

The task is certainly a lot easier - and warmer - than the Ice Bucket Challenge which inspired the idea - the social media phenomenon which saw people dousing themselves in cold water in the name of motor neurone disease causes.

But much like that, those taking part have been asked to nominate someone else to make a video of their own and help the charity go viral again this year.

In a twist for 2015 those getting involved have to declare what county they are from to see which of the charity's six areas generates the most online traffic.

And participants have also been asked to make a small donation to the charity by texting MAAC00 to 70070 with the amount - £2, £5 or £10.

Ms Sebright added: "It is a massive boost to have celebrities on board backing us again this year.

"NAAW has now become a regular feature on people's event calendars and there are so many different ways that people can get involved.

"Some of our supporters hold multi-coloured or dress down days at school or within the workplace.

"Others organise their own events or set themselves a challenge and ask their friends to sponsor them.

"The creation of a video is probably one of the easiest ways of getting involved this year and we look forward to seeing how the public respond.

"As well as including the #NAAW2015 hashtag we will be encouraging people to say which county they are from.

"As we cover six counties we will be watching to see which counties create the most posts and videos to make it into a fun competition.

"There is no prize it is just a fun way to engage the different counties and also raise awareness of the areas we cover."

Everyone who posts a video with the hashtag will be entered into a prize draw to earn a visit to one of the bases.

In 2016 the Midlands charity will mark its 25th anniversary. To date crews have responded to more than 42,000 incidents.

The organisation is planning to mark the milestone in spectacular ways which will be announced in more detail in January commencing a year's worth of celebrations.

There will also be the usual events such as Bike 4 Life which motorcycling legend Carl Fogarty fronts.

At the moment the three helicopters operate between the hours of 7am and 9pm for 365 days a year.

But the long-term aspiration is to provide 24/7 emergency cover, however this will incur substantial additional costs estimated at £1.6million a year.

So whether it is dressing up as Superman, hosting a charity quiz on all things red or declaring your support via video-logging on social media, get behind National Air Ambulance Week.