An air ambulance manned by Prince William in his final shift in the role landed in Royston yesterday evening after an elderly woman was seriously hurt in a fall.

The ambulance service were alerted to the incident at around 5.30pm yesterday evening, where the woman, in her 70s, had fallen at a home in Redwing Rise in the Twidgens estate and had a serious leg injury.

A paramedic in a rapid response vehicle, and ambulance crew were sent to the scene, and the East Anglian Air Ambulance was requested later as the patient required stronger pain relief and sedation.

The helicopter landed on the common at the back of the development with the future king at the controls, however the patient was taken by land ambulance to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge for further care.

Word got around that the Duke of Cambridge was involved in the operation and crowds came out to catch a glimpse of him on his last shift as pilot for the charity. He joined in March 2015 and is stepping down to taken on more royal duties.

Eye witness Dr Adrian Stevens told the Crow that everyone was “well-behaved and gave both the prince and the aircraft ample room to get on with the job in hand.”