By Gary Cooper

A TEENAGER was seriously ill in hospital last night after he was involved in a motorbike accident on the outskirts of Montrose.

The location of the incident, and the injuries suffered by the 13-year-old, meant he had to be airlifted to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

Paramedics were alerted around 3pm after a frantic 999 call was made to ambulance controllers revealing that the youth had come off a dirt bike at the old Broomfield Aerodrome.

The accident happened on a stretch of disused concrete road skirting the edge of the wartime airfield, which is reached by crossing open ground between a golf driving range and the water treatment plant north of the town.

An ambulance was unable to get closer than about half a mile owing to the rough terrain.

The crew had to cover the rest of the ground on foot, carrying emergency equipment, before administering treatment to the teenager.

Police units were called in by ambulance personnel and also had to go on foot over the rough ground.

Fearful of moving the youngster—who was slipping in and out of consciousness—over such undulating ground, the paramedics called in an air ambulance.

Police helped to clear an area to allow the helicopter to land, and called on nearby model aeroplane enthusiasts to cease flying.

It is understood that the teenager’s condition meant he couldn’t be airlifted immediately.

Crew members took off for Ninewells to collect a trauma team made up of specialists, including doctors, to tend the youth.

They returned and, after further treatment, put the teenager on a stretcher and, with the help of police, carried him to the nearby helicopter.

The youth was with a number of friends around the same age.

It is believed relatives of the teenager were told of the accident a short time after it happened, and were at the scene before he was flown out.

Accident investigators from the police traffic unit were summoned due to the gravity of the accident.

A police spokesman confirmed that the youth had fallen from a motorcycle and sustained a serious head injury.

He added that his condition in hospital was “serious.”

It is not known how the accident happened and if the biker had been wearing a helmet at the time.

Montrose councillor Mark Salmond said, “I am very concerned that a youth has been injured in an accident at the old aerodrome.

“I don’t know the circumstances of it, but I intend finding out more information from the police.”