AN AIR ambulance trying to take off to airlift a sick baby was grounded for two hours in a row over refuelling.

With medical team on board, the aircraft was trying to depart Glasgow Airport on its way to Kirkwall, Orkney, to pick up a baby girl thought to have meningitis.

The twin-engined Beech King Air plane arrived at the airport from Kirkwall at around 2.45am on Sunday, but while in the air the crew received an emergency call ordering them back to Orkney to pick up the sick baby.

Paramedics and a specialist recovery team from Yorkhill Hospital were then stranded on the tarmac at Glasgow until 4.30am - because staff on the ground did not know the duty refueller's mobile phone number.

It is also believed that AirBP refused to supply fuel to the Scottish Ambulance Service aircraft, which was run by Gama..

An ambulance service insider said today: "It is believed that Signature, Gama's refueller at Glasgow, had changed the phone number for the duty refueller but had not told everyone the new contact details.

"The aircraft, crew and medical team were fully ready to go, but didn't have the fuel they needed.

"BP refused although they had staff, equipment and fuel.

"At first they claimed they did not have a radio licence so they were unable to drive a bowser to the aircraft.

"The offer was also made to have the aircraft taxied to the bowser. BP continued to refuse to refuel the air ambulance, despite the pressing medical task."

The plane was eventually refuelled by Signature, allowing the crew to attend the emergency, but the girl's condition had improved considerably.

Orkney MSP Liam McArthur said today that the incident was "scarcely believable".

He said: "This is quite an extraordinary case. There appear to have been a series of decisions taken which cannot be justified given the circumstances of a baby with suspected meningitis."

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said they had been given assurances that it would not happen again.

A spokesman for Air BP said: "AirBP does not have a contract with the air ambulance service.

"But if AirBP had received a request for a medical emergency, our policy is always to respond and sort out contractual gaps afterwards."

Gama Aviation today refused to comment on the incident.