A YORKSHIRE Air Ambulance (YAA) crew member - whose cornea was burned when a laser was shone at his aircraft flying 1,500ft above Bradford - has described the attack as "senseless".

YAA technical crew member Alex Clark suffered the horrendous injury on Friday night.

It happened as Mr Clark was on a transit flight back to the service's Nostell airbase, near Wakefield.

The 30-year-old said a green laser went through his night goggles and hit his right eye.

He managed to continue working but suffered blurred vision - so the following morning he visited an optician who told him he had a burned cornea.

Thankfully, it has now mostly healed.

Mr Clark said: "As a member of the YAA team, my primary focus has always been to help save lives and provide critical care to those in need.

"It is disheartening and deeply distressing that I, along with my fellow crew members, have become the victims of these senseless laser attacks.

"The incident has left me with a burnt cornea - and the physical pain is nothing compared to the anguish of knowing that our ability to respond swiftly and efficiently to emergencies could be compromised due to these laser attacks."

YAA said its aircraft have been subjected to three separate and deliberate such incidents in a week.

Addressing the culprits, Mr Clark said: "They might need us one day.

"Their family members might need us one day.

"We're here to provide care for really, really severely injured patients.

"If this carries on, it's potentially going to affect how we operate at night."

Mr Clark, who was an army medic for six years and then worked on conventional ambulances before joining YAA, said his fiancee was "really upset" about the incident.

"I want to go home safe and sound and not have to worry about risks that have happened at work," he added.

YAA chief pilot Owen McTeggart said those responsible may think "it's just a laugh and no harm is caused" - but it may have "life-changing consequences".

A spokesperson for YAA added: "These attacks, characterised by their intermittent and seemingly random nature, have left YAA searching for answers as there appears to be no discernible pattern or motive behind these acts of senseless stupidity.

"The safety of YAA's crews and the patients they serve is paramount.

"These attacks constitute a threat to both."