It reads like an adventure story – but it a doctor’s view of life on the front-line ‘flying ambulance’ which is the Gannet Search and Rescue (SAR) Unit at Prestwick in Scotland.

Rescue 177 is Ayrshire doctor Jim Begg’s account of his life in the limelight as a SAR medic, and the Ayrshire GP refers to the book as a collection of Boy’s Own adventures – taken from his wife’s description of him disappearing at all hours and in all weathers on flying medical emergency missions with the Sea King, call sign Rescue 177.

Undoubtedly the most dramatic and tragic incident in Jim Begg’s account is the crash of the bombed Pan Am jumbo jet on the town of Lockerbie in December 1988.

And although that traumatic mission was not typical, Dr Begg reckons there is no such thing as a typical mission – each has its individual human drama.

The team has to be ready to handle the unexpected on each flight, and to be ready to airlift an injured or sick patient at a moment’s notice, whatever his condition.

The Navy’s Sea King is a vital emergency service for many of the isolated communities in Scotland’s highlands and islands, and for ships and fishing boats out to sea, often having to contend with atrocious weather.

The inside story of Rescue 177 is an eloquent tribute to the coolness, professionalism and courage of the naval and civilian crews who answer these emergency calls round the clock, finding their patients in remote spots, treating them there and then, and then rushing them to hospital.

The incidents attended by Jim Begg range from the trifling to the tragic, and over the years he developed from the newest and greenest member of the crew to a stalwart with a crucial contribution.

As Rear Admiral Scott Lidbetter says in his Foreword to the book: “Many people owe their lives to the persistence and tenacity of Jimmy Begg… This book contains the true stories of some of his rescues; it reads like an adventure novel.”

Rescue 177 was officially published in paperback on September 5 by Mercat Press, 10 Coates Crescent, Edinburgh EH3 7AL, ISBN number 184183 0542, price £12.99.