AN RAF helicopter broke down in Victoria Park during a patient hospital transfer.

The Sea King, used by the force for search and rescue operations, touched down in Latchford at around 6.30pm on Wednesday.

Pilots then discovered a fuel leak from the propeller, meaning it would not be able to take off.

The yellow helicopter remained in the park overnight before specialist RAF engineers arrived to fix it on Thursday morning.

It left Warrington for its base in Hull at around 8.10am.

Meanwhile an ICU patient at Warrington Hospital was taken by ambulance to Victoria Park on Wednesday evening.

The plan was for the helicopter to transfer him to Glenfield Hospital, in Leicester, for specialist treatment.

Due to the technical fault, he had to be taken by ambulance instead.

A Warrington Hospital spokesman said: “The transfer by specialist ambulance by road went well and the patient is stable.”

Mountain Rescue, which is affiliated to the RAF, guarded the multi-million pound Sea King throughout the night to make sure it was secure.

Cheshire Police and Cheshire Fire Service were on standby to make sure that a 10-metre cordon for take off and landing was observed.

Lee McGarity, a crew manager for Cheshire Fire, said: “We’re always on standby if there is a patient transfer like this.

“Everything went okay with that and the leak never posed any danger to the patient or to the public.”

A police spokesman said: “Cheshire Police assisted the RAF when an aircraft deployed to transport a casualty landed in Victoria Park.

“Patrols were deployed to the scene to protect the safety of the public in the area.”

Residents Darren and Carolyn Moston, of The Old Quays, saw the helicopter land and went to take photos.

Carolyn, who returned with Darren the following day to see the helicopter off, said: “It was amazing, so incredible and so powerful.

“I feel lucky we got to see it.”

Dawn Iles, a former air hostess who lives on Dudley Street, in the town centre, was walking her dog in the park when she saw the helicopter circling above her.

She said: “I had to run to a cluster of trees because it was looking for somewhere to land. It was a fantastic sight to see, it just glided down.”

See more in Thurday’s Warrington Guardian.