General

 The Yorkshire Air Ambulance held their inaugural North Yorkshire Fundraising Regional Awards at the Devonshire Arms Hotel near Skipton on 19^th September 2018.

The event is part of a series of regional award ceremonies the Yorkshire Air Ambulance is running to thank fundraisers across the County for their dedication to the charity, with the main Yorkshire-wide ceremony taking place in October in Sheffield.

Regional staff selected eight of the most deserving solo and group fundraisers from the North Yorkshire region and awards on the day were presented by Peter Sunderland, Chairman of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Helen Callear, Regional Fundraising Manager for North Yorkshire, said: “We have a lot of incredible, dedicated fundraisers in North Yorkshire and these awards have been a great opportunity to show our fundraisers & supporters how grateful we are for their hard work and helping us raise the funds for our air ambulance service which is vital in rural areas such as North Yorkshire”.

Individual Fundraising Champion – Michael Saxby

Michael Saxby, from Bedale, raised just over £6,500 walking events such as the Lyke Wake Walk with friends Anthony Soulsby and Andrew McDonald, and he also became an event volunteer during the Tour de Yorkshire. His award was collected by his son Robin on the day, who is aspiring to follow in his father’s fundraising footsteps.

Patient Fundraising Family award – Ellie Peacock

Ellie Peacock, 11, from Bainbridge, suffers from Brittle Bone Disease and needed the help of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance when she was airlifted to hospital in March 2016 after breaking her leg. With the help of her friends and family, she raised £3,800 by holding a fundraising breakfast at their café in the village.

Outstanding Fundraising Award – The Heritage Boys

Harrogate based The Heritage Boys have been travelling around the UK and Europe playing hits from the 60s at various events, with all the proceeds going to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Andy, Ian and Peter, along with their manager Anne have raised over £19,000 since they began supporting the YAA.­­

Business Fundraising Champion – Woodhouse Farm Holiday Park

Woodhouse Farm Holiday Park in Winksley, Ripon have raised just under £12,500 through fundraising events at the holiday park.  Marie Laverick and her team including one of the holiday park owners, Alison Laverick have been keen supporters of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and have put a lot of work into increasing the awareness of the charity with support posters around the park. Events this year included coffee mornings and hog roasts around the Tour de Yorkshire.

Community Fundraising Champions –The Scott Trial (Richmond Motor Group)

Richmond Motor Group has supported the Yorkshire Air Ambulance since 2008 and have raised over £13,000. Funds were raised during the ‘Scott Trial’, one of the UK’s most challenging motorcycle trials.  The trial takes on 80 miles of cross-country racing in some of the most picturesque parts of North Yorkshire.  Funds are raised from the entrance fees for the event.

Community Fundraising Champions – The ‘Early Birds’ Swimmers

The ‘Early Birds’ swimmers are a group of swimmers who attend Knaresborough Swimming Pool at 7.30am most mornings for the Early Bird session.  So far they have raised £11,000 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance by setting themselves swimming challenges such as swimming the equivalent of Loch Lomond.

Special Recognition – Katy Hutchcraft-Stott

Katy Hutchcroft-Stott from Stockton on Tees started raising money after she sadly lost her father in 2017.  Although the YAA were able to care for him and get him to hospital, Katy’s father sadly passed away the following day. Since then, Katy has raised £4,000 through a series of events held her at her pub, The Garrick Hotel, Teeside in her father’s memory.

Special Recognition – Ian McDonough

Ian McDonough along with his family, and close friend Paul Arnold, raised more than £10,000 for the  Charity after Ian’s brother Pat died following a bike accident near Buttertubs Pass, where the Yorkshire Air Ambulance attended. Their first fundraiser for the charity was a 20 mile walk along the Cleveland Way, starting at the Ship Inn in Saltburn and finishing at the Angel Hotel in Whitby. They have since taken part in further walks, bike rides and held social events in aid of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

The event was hosted with support of The Devonshire Arms Hotel, who are currently supporting the Yorkshire Air Ambulance as their Charity of the Year.  Guests enjoyed afternoon tea at the hotel prior to the awards ceremony taking place.

A newlywed couple from Doncaster are lucky to be alive following a horrific motorbike accident just days before their first wedding anniversary.

Ian Werret, 52, and his wife Clare, 44 were on a bike ride in the Selby area, when Ian was overtaking a car turning off a motorway, resulting in the collision.

Ian and Clare were flung from the back of the motorbike and ended up lying 10 yards away from each other on a grass verge.

Clare said: “I remember being on the bike, then being in the air and then I woke up on the grass – I must have passed out. “

With the Yorkshire Air Ambulance in attendance, it was down to the paramedics on board to assess the severity of both parties injuries.  Subsequently, Ian was flown to the Major Trauma Centre at Leeds General Infirmary as he was deemed the most seriously injured of the two, and Clare was taken by land ambulance to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.

Clare continued: “I remember the air ambulance crew checking over my knee and I didn’t know how Ian was. Then I overheard that his stats were dropping and he needed to be airlifted.”

Assessments at Leeds General Infirmary revealed that Ian had cracked two vertebrae, nine broken ribs,  fractured his shoulder and had two collapsed lungs. Clare suffered from leg injuries, a broken rib  and also a collapsed lung. They both went on to make a good recovery considering their injuries.

Despite their horrific accident, biker of 37 years Ian, has not been put off riding. As soon as they returned home from hospital, his first priority was to assess the damage of his prized bike.

The couple returned home just in time to celebrate their first wedding anniversary together, recovering on the sofa – it wasn’t quite the celebrations they both had in mind.

Speaking of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Clare said: “If it wasn’t for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, I don’t think my husband would here today.”

Ian and Clare’s story will feature in episode 10 of Helicopter ER. Helicopter ER, which airs at 9pm on UKTV’s real life channel Really, also features a woman who accidentally stabbed herself with a knife, a man who fell two storeys at a local post office and a child who had a serious fall in a North Yorkshire woods.

Helicopter ER is made by York-based Air Television who have won two Royal Television Society awards for their work on the compelling series.

Claire Walton, aged 28, was riding her horse at a farm near Ingleby on 27^th March 2016, when she got her foot stuck in a gate post and as the horse bucked, she was thrown to the ground, leaving her with her spine broken in seven places.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance was called to the farm and Claire was rushed to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, where she underwent emergency spinal surgery.

Surgeons had Claire walking the very next day. However, they stressed that if it wasn’t for the initial treatment and speedy transfer by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, she may not have been so lucky.

A year after her accident, Claire got back in the saddle and decided to fundraise for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.  It was there when she met the man who helped save her and also inspired her career change.

Paramedic Andy Armitage has had a varied career from starting out as a postman to becoming a fitness instructor. He now works for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance as one of their fully trained aircrew paramedics.

Andy impressed Claire with his reassuring and calm nature on the day he attended her, accident and when  Claire mentioned that she had always wanted to work as a paramedic, but she thought she was too old to retrain, Andy inspired her by saying: ‘it is never too late.’

Claire has now been accepted on to a BSC Hons degree studying Paramedic Practice at Teeside University and will be starting this month. Her goal is to one day work for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Claire, said: “The Yorkshire Air Ambulance service is invaluable and I hope that one day like them, I can make a difference to someone’s life.”

A man who was airlifted to hospital following a serious heart attack, is now walking at least 30 minutes per day in order to help keep his heart healthy.

Ken Allanby, 75, from Baldersby, North Yorkshire, always led an active lifestyle riding motorcycles, cycles and walking with his family. He had always been generally fit and healthy, until one day he suddenly suffered a serious heart attack.

Catherine, Ken’s wife, had just returned home from walking their dog when her husband started complaining of chest pains.  She left the room to book him a doctor’s appointment, but when she returned, his condition had rapidly deteriorated.

Catherine, a retired nurse, said: “He suddenly went grey and started gasping for air. As soon as he started crying I knew something was wrong and he told to me call an ambulance.”

Paramedics who were first on scene assessed Ken and told him that he would need to go to hospital for some bloods tests. However, moments later Ken went into cardiac arrest.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance were immediately scrambled given Ken’s serious condition, and when they arrived at Ken’s home, he was in a critical condition. Paramedics had already managed to restart his heart, but time was of the essence and he needed immediate transfer to hospital.

YAA medics helped to stabilise Ken then they flew him to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.  During the 15 minute journey, which would have taken 45 minutes on the road, the team were on standby in case of any further deterioration in Ken’s condition. Only 5% of cardiac arrests are successfully resuscitated, and Ken had already defied the odds earlier that day.

Luckily, Ken arrived at the hospital and was quickly handed over to cardiac surgeons, who managed to successfully remove a blockage from his heart, and he was well on the road to recovery within four days.

Since his distressing ordeal, Ken has been able to go back to the things he enjoyed doing such as riding his motorbike, but he also vowed to make sure he does 30 minutes of exercise daily to keep his heart healthy.

Catherine added: “The Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the local paramedics were absolutely fabulous. From the speed that they arrived, to how they handled the situation, you really couldn’t fault them.”

Strewth! Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s favourite Aussie pilot Chris Attrill is leaving the rapid response emergency service after a decade of life-saving.

Chris, who was born on the Isle of Wight, moved to Australia as a toddler. After a period serving in the Australian Army Infantry he came to the UK and ‘fell into flying’ when he joined the Army Air Corps in 1983.

“Flying was not part of the original game plan but once I got into the air I knew I had found the right role for me and within two years of joining the British army I was flying,” said Chris, who became an Air Crewman in 1985, completing his Pilots course four years later.

“A crewman in the army is the best apprenticeship you can have as it’s all the fun without the responsibility – if anything goes wrong it’s the pilot’s fault.

“But you were 50% hands-on most of the time and it was one, long mentoring process which prepared you so well.”

Chris spent 21 years in the Army serving everywhere from Belize to Bosnia, and from the Falklands to Northern Ireland. After leaving the military he became a HEMS pilot, joining Yorkshire Air Ambulance in October 2008.

“Army pilots tend to slip into HEMS flying quite easily as we are used to flying smaller multi-role aircraft into small places,” he added.

“You are also part of another very close-knit team. As the air ambulance paramedics all take an aviation module to become Technical Crew Members, it means it really is a team effort. If you need a hand getting the aircraft in and out and refuelling they can help, and if they need a hand on the ground the pilots muck in.”

Chris, 60, was a member of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance crew which responded to the Cumbrian massacre in 2010 when lone gunman, Derrick Bird, killed 12 people and injured 11 others before killing himself.

He added: “Doing this job is a very humbling experience and on some days it’s just really very hard. With the Cumbrian shootings unfortunately every job that day was a fatality which was tough.

“But I have been very blessed during my time at Yorkshire Air Ambulance to work with and meet a lot of great people. Not only that, we get to fly in such a fantastic and varied landscape.

“The charity is always looking to provide a better service for the people of Yorkshire – whether it’s new aircraft or night-time flying – and it really has been a privilege and a pleasure to be a YAA pilot.”

In line with HEMS rules, which mean single pilots have to retire at 60, Chris has left Yorkshire Air Ambulance but will continue his flying career at Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance which runs dual pilot operations.

Director of Aviation Capt Andy Lister said: “It has been an absolute pleasure to work alongside Chris and he will be sadly missed at the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. On behalf of everyone here I would like to wish him all the best with his new opportunity working with our colleagues at Lincs & Notts.”

Cyclist Dave Jefferson has got back on this bike saddle a year after a serious cycling accident, and raised more than £1,300 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Just over a year ago, Dave, 54 from Market Weighton, suffered a bleed on the brain, a broken collar bone and ribs and burns to his shoulders and knees after a cycling accident near North Dalton.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance airlifted Dave to Hull Royal Infirmary where he underwent intensive treatment and told that if it wasn’t for the air ambulance service and the fact that he was wearing a helmet, he possibly wouldn’t be here today.

As an avid cyclist, Dave regularly used the Strava app to monitor his progress and record his miles. The app was left switched on when he was taken by air from the scene of the accident to HRI, recording him travelling 154 miles.

The distance Dave allegedly travelled created a buzz within the Strava community and many people began asking him how he did it, unaware that he wasn’t actually cycling at the time, but in the back of an air ambulance helicopter.

To show support for the service that helped save his life and to give himself a challenge, Dave decided to replicate his journey via helicopter on land and cycle 154 miles to raise funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Dave rallied around a team of 16 cyclists aged from 22 to 54 years old and travelled from Market Weighton to Malton and Flamborough Lighthouse, then back through Bridlington, to Driffield, Walkington, North Cave, arriving back at Market Weighton. The journey took ten and a half hours of cycling, starting at 5am and finishing at 6.30pm.

“I just wanted to think of some way to thank the crew and charity for what they did for me on the day I had my accident, and a bike ride sounded like the best idea”, said Dave.

“The charity is absolutely fantastic and you never know when you might need them. They are amazing people and what they do every single day is outstanding.”

Ian Dawson had just come off Junction 5 of the M18 on his way home from his job as a postman in Brigg when very low blood sugar levels caused a ‘hypo’ attack.

The Type 1 diabetic was catapulted 30 metres through the air, smashed his legs into a road sign before landing on the other side of the motorway junction roundabout barrier.

“My sugar levels must have plummeted on the ride home but I was concentrating so much I didn’t realise it was affecting me until I heard a loud bang, which was me hitting the sign, and I remember lying on the ground and pretty much accepting death,” said 51-year-old Ian.

“My legs were just in a knot but there was an angel on my shoulder that day who literally saved my life.”

That ‘angel’ was off-duty District Nurse Sister Kathryn Bebb who pulled over to help. “I just grabbed my nursing bag from the boot of the car and followed this girl over the barrier to where Ian was on the ground,” said 30-year-old Kathryn from Cusworth.

“When I got there his legs were really badly smashed. I got a couple of lads to call the ambulance and these other two girls helped me as I cut his trousers off.

“He was bleeding quite heavily out of one of his legs where his artery had been severed so I tourniqueted his leg and we applied compression and just kept talking to Ian. He said he was a diabetic and needed some sugar so someone got a can of coke from their car which helped.”

Kathryn, who works for Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH), added: “His injuries were very gruesome with a lot of bones protruding but these girls, and everyone who stopped to help, were amazing and it just goes to show what people can do.”

Ian was airlifted to the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, by Yorkshire Air Ambulance but doctors were unfortunately unable to save his shattered left leg which was amputated below the knee.

The accident happened in April last year, and Ian has gone through months of painful hospital treatment and physiotherapy with more to come.

“Everyone from the Air Ambulance to the hospital staff have just been fantastic and I can’t thank them enough but this has just completely changed my life and it has been very hard at times,” added the father-of-two Ian.

“My false leg is OK but I still have a lot of pain with my right leg because of the tissue scarring and it’s very difficult to walk, but while I don’t think I will be able to walk without crutches, I’m hoping things will improve a lot.”

He and partner of 20 years Karen got married in June and the couple are looking forward to a new life when they move into a bungalow in Wheatley, Doncaster.

Ian’s accident features in Monday night’s episode of Helicopter ER, the award-winning UKTV programme which follows the life-saving work of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

The programme, which airs at 9pm on UKTV’s real life channel Really, also features the dramatic attempts to save the life of a grocer who collapsed and stopped breathing while loading his van and a boy’s daring jump into the water at Whitby harbour which ends in a serious injury

Helicopter ER is made by York-based Air Television who have won two Royal Television Society awards for their work on the compelling series.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) serves 5million people across Yorkshire and carries out over 1,300 missions every year. The charity operates two, state-of-the-art Airbus H145 helicopters and needs to raise £12,000 every day to keep saving lives.

Photo caption:  Ian Dawson being treated at the scene of the crash and Doncaster district nursing sister Kathryn Bebb who stopped to give life-saving help.

First aid training as a coastguard could have helped Filey man Paul Tyndall to save his wife’s leg after she suffered multiple fractures in a freak accident.

A family Father’s Day walk to Roseberry Topping, near Great Ayton, ended in a dramatic air lift to hospital for Paul’s wife Ann after she slipped when walking down from the Captain Cook Monument. She broke her leg in three places below the knee as well as dislocating her ankle in the fall.

“It was just bad luck, “said 55-year-old Ann. “I had walking boots and poles but it was very steep as we were coming back down through the woods and I just slipped.

“My leg below the knee was at 90 degrees as well as my ankle and I had no feeling in my foot. I take a blood thinning drug for a heart condition and, because of where we were, getting medical help and then getting me to hospital was not going to be easy.

“So, Paul felt he had no choice but to try and straighten my leg. It was very painful for me, but also very traumatic for him, but my surgeon said if he hadn’t done it I could have lost my leg.”

Cleveland Mountain Rescue and Yorkshire Air Ambulance medics got Ann stretchered and, with the help of family members, she was carried to the waiting helicopter before being airlifted to the James Cook University Hospital for surgery on her shattered leg and ankle.

Paul, who has been part of the Filey Coastguard Team for over ten years, added: “It was just awful. I’d never done anything like that before but once Ann said she had no feeling in her foot, I knew her leg needed to be straightened quickly.

“I think you just find strength from somewhere but really I knew I didn’t have any choice. It was very much a relief when the mountain rescue and air ambulance guys turned up.”

Ann, an activities coordinator in a Scarborough retirement living centre, has now fully recovered and is enjoying long walks once more. She and her family are now raising money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Cleveland Mountain Rescue charities.

Paul and their daughter Lucy, who was at the scene with her partner, will be taking part in next month’s Great North Run half marathon. If you would like to support them go to their Just Giving Page https://www.justgiving.com/teams/lucyandpaulgnr

Ann’s freak accident features in Monday’s episode of Helicopter ER, the award-winning UKTV programme which follows the life-saving work of Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

The episode, which airs at 9pm on Really, also follows the efforts to save the life of an elderly pedestrian knocked down outside a GP surgery and a motorcyclist who suddenly collapsed while riding in the Peak District.

Helicopter ER is made by York-based Air Television who have won two Royal Television Society awards for their work on the compelling series. You can catch up with any episodes you miss on UKTV Play.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) serves 5million people across Yorkshire and carries out over 1,300 missions every year. The charity operates two, state-of-the-art Airbus H145 helicopters and needs to raise £12,000 every day to keep saving lives.

Photo caption:  Ann Tyndall being treated at the scene of her accident and being carried to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance aircraft.

Two camping trips by a young Cleveland family – a year apart – have both ended in call outs by Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Emily Moffitt wanted to recreate much-loved childhood camping holidays with her partner and their two young sons. But a taster trip to a North Yorkshire campsite in 2016 nearly ended in tragedy when their gas stove exploded.

“I was finishing cooking up breakfast when all of a sudden the stove went pop and there were flames,” said 23-year-old Emily. “I was sat on a camping chair and the boys were next to me and I instinctively stood up and turned to protect them.

“I got them over the windbreak to safety and then realized that my legs were on fire and dropped to the ground. I think with all the adrenalin I didn’t initially realise how bad it was but then when I tried to move away my jeans were stuck to my legs. The pain was just terrible.

“An off-duty nurse who was there cut my jeans off and wrapped my legs in cling film and soaked them with a hosepipe until the air ambulance arrived. Everyone at the campsite was amazing and I can’t thank them enough.”

Yorkshire Air Ambulance paramedics applied special burn shields to her legs before Emily was taken by road to hospital in Harrogate. She had intensive treatment in the burns unit for flash burns to her legs and right hand but thankfully did not require skin grafts.

After recovering from that ordeal Emily and her partner Ross decided to give camping another try and last summer took their boys Oscar, then 3, and two-year-old Oliver away for a weekend to a campsite near Ampleforth, North Yorkshire.

“We took a hot plate instead of a gas stove and everything was going well until Oliver became ill,” added Emily of Acklam, Middlesborugh.

“He was on his Dad’s knee when he suddenly vomited and went floppy. He wasn’t responding to us and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. It was just the worst experience of my life, so frightening.

“There was no phone signal so his Dad ran with him to the main park reception who dialed 999 and the Air Ambulance arrived to us again.”

Thankfully by the time the air crew arrived little Oliver was starting to recover from his fit – a febrile convulsion brought on by tonsillitis – and he was taken by road to hospital in York.

“The Air Ambulance got to us a full 15 minutes before the road ambulance and we are just so very grateful to them. It’s just the peace of mind knowing that if you need them they are there – although we’re not planning any more camping trips!”

Emily’s camping nightmares feature in Monday’s episode of Helicopter ER, the award-winning UKTV programme which follows the life-saving work of Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

The episode, which airs at 9pm on Really, also features a flying doctor carrying out a complex medical procedure on the roadside after a biker stops breathing after a serious accident and a farmer who gets his hand impaled on a steel spike in his pigsty.

Helicopter ER is made by York-based Air Television who have won two Royal Television Society awards for their work on the compelling series. You can catch up with any episodes you miss on UKTV Play.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) serves 5million people across Yorkshire and carries out over 1,300 missions every year. The charity operates two, state-of-the-art Airbus H145 helicopters and needs to raise £12,000 every day to keep saving lives.

The love of his partner and a sense of humour are helping Alan Brigg slowly rebuild his life after suffering a catastrophic brain injury in a motorbike accident.

Alan and five friends were returning from a regular morning bike ride to Penrith on Easter Saturday last year when he was hit by a Land Rover pulling out onto the A65 near Ingleton.

The impact caused devastating injuries which have completely changed Alan’s life, but he might not have survived at all without an off-duty intensive care nurse who got out of her car to help and gave CPR after Alan’s heart stopped.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance were quickly on scene with paramedics and Emergency Medicine Consultant Dr Chris Srinivasan who anaethetised Alan at the roadside before airlifting him to the nearest major trauma centre at Preston.

Alan suffered multiple fractures including a broken pelvis, elbow, 10 broken ribs, collapsed lung and a spinal break but the devastating damage was to the 42-year-old’s brain.

He spent a total of 11 months in hospital in Preston and Airedale before moving into a bungalow in Skipton with his partner of five years, Sue McIntyre.

Sue made the nearly 160-mile round trip every day for 17 weeks to visit Alan in the Royal Preston Hospital and is with him every step of the way on his long road to recovery.

Something not lost on Alan, who proposed to her up to 70 times a day after the accident – and she said yes every time!

“What’s happened is just so huge and scary. I didn’t know a thing about brain injuries before but I’ve had a lot of support and Alan has come such a long way,” said Sue, 51 who works in Asda at Shipley.

“His short-term memory is still very bad and some of the longer-term memories are mixed up but he is slowly improving and the main thing he has the same personality, and sense of humour, although he’s a lot more soppy!”

Alan who has ongoing physiotherapy and neuropsychology support, has been left wheelchair bound, and although he is now able to walk a few steps with a frame, his immobility has been hard for both him and Sue, who were avid walkers before the accident.

She added: “We were just never in. Every weekend we were out hiking or cycling and so not being active has obviously been very frustrating for Alan.

“But, we hope he will have a degree of mobility and we’re getting an off-road wheelchair which will be fantastic.”

Alan was working as a Spares Coordinator at Spiroflow UK, Clitheroe, when the accident happened. His former work colleagues raised nearly £1,000 to support his rehabilitation and motorbiking friend Lee Boocock – who was riding with Alan last Easter – is aiming to cycle from Leeds to London next month to raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Alan’s accident features in Monday’s episode of Helicopter ER, the award-winning UKTV programme which follows the life-saving work of Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Sue added: “We have spoken about his accident and we are just so grateful to the nurse who gave him CPR and the Air Ambulance doctor and paramedics who kept him alive and got him so quickly to hospital.

“I’ve watched the TV programmes and you just never think one day it could be you. We are just so fortunate to have an Air Ambulance service and if Alan had had to go by road ambulance I don’t think he would be here today.”

Helicopter ER, which airs at 9pm on Really, is made by York-based Air Television who have won two Royal Television Society awards for their work on the compelling series. You can catch up with any episodes you miss on UKTV Play.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) serves 5million people across Yorkshire and carries out over 1,300 missions every year. The charity operates two, state-of-the-art Airbus H145 helicopters and needs to raise £12,000 every day to keep saving lives.

If you would like to donate to Lee Boocock’s Just Giving page go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lee-boocock1

An auction at the Cheese and Dairy Section of the show raised a whopping £6,403.25 which was handed over to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance outside the Yorkshire Event Centre yesterday. The auction is held every year on the last day of the Great Yorkshire Show giving visitors the chance to bid for a round of their favourite cheese.  Once the judging has taken place,  its over to the public to put in their highest bid to be in with a chance of taking home some of the country’s best cheese. This year saw the most money ever raised at the auction, over the years it has raised thousands of pounds for charity, and has fast become a favourite with visitors at the Show. A flying visit from the Yorkshire Air Ambulance itself took place during the handover.

Judy Bell MBE Shepherds Purse said: “Its an amazing amount of money rasied, every year the cheese auction gets more popular at the Show. The support from the general public is incredible and its fanstatic to be able to give this money to such a great cause.”

Nigel Pulling Chief Executive of Yorkshire Agricultural Society said: “As a charity ourselves we are proud to be able to give this amount of money to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance who provides an essential service to rural communities across Yorkshire.”

Helen Callear, Regional Fundraising Manager North said  “We were delighted to hear we had been selected to receive the funds from the Great Yorkshire Show cheese auction but we were really staggered by the amount. Huge thanks on behalf of the YAA to the Yorkshire Agricultural Society for their generous donation. Many of our patients are farmers who work in remote locations under difficult conditions and we know they appreciate the knowledge that the YAA is there for them. It is lovely that the Society supports us in turn with this tremendous gesture.”

Adrian Hirst, was out on his motorbike with his wife Karen, riding pillion when they were hit by another vehicle.  The accident left him at the roadside with life-threatening injuries including a severed spinal cord, broken pelvis, hip, neck, shoulder, wrist and ribs as well as a bleed on his brain.  Karen was also badly injured in the accident.

On 11th March last year, it was the Critical Care Team from Yorkshire Air Ambulance who flew to Adrian and performed the hospital-level treatment on him which saved his life. The Team’s advanced life-saving treatment continued on-board the rapid helicopter transfer to hospital, effectively saving his life a second time.

Adrian said: ” If it wasn’t for the skill and dedication of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance team, I’m sure I wouldn’t be here today. They saved my life at the scene of my accident and then whisked me off to Leeds General Infirmary. During the 10-minute flight I slipped into a coma as my lungs collapsed, and so every second saved by the speed of the helicopter transfer, the equipment on-board and the skills of the paramedics were all vital as my life hung in the balance.”

Adrian, who worked for the Valuation Office Agency at the time of his accident, was joined by colleagues to launch a national fundraising partnership which will see the VOA’s 3,000 employees actively fundraising for all UK Air Ambulances via the Association of Air Ambulance Charity.

The VOA aims to raise around £50,000 nationally to support the work of the UK’s local air ambulance’s through a range of air-themed and other challenge events, office and social activities, payroll giving and much more.

VOA senior executives Thomas Lindie, Operations Director, David Nicholls, Head of People and Advisory Services, and Jo Moore, Leeds Office Manager, accompanied Adrian and Karen to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance Airbase visit at Nostell Priory near Wakefield.

Thomas Lindie commented: “It’s been an absolute privilege to attend today’s launch of the charity partnership between the VOA and the Association of Air Ambulances Charity. We’ve all seen, heard or read of the lifesaving services provided by air ambulances, but to attend this event with Adrian today really brings home just what an amazing service this is.”

Abby Barmby, Director of Marketing & Communications of Yorkshire Air Ambulance added: “We were absolutely delighted to welcome both Adrian and Karen to our Nostell Airbase to meet Chris, who was the Pilot who flew Adrian to hospital. We are very humbled that the VOA have now chosen to support the work of local air ambulance charities throughout the UK, including Yorkshire Air Ambulance. We were delighted to welcome everyone to Nostell to launch the partnership today.”

Adrian also added: “I remained in a coma for a month and am now in a wheelchair. However, I am recovering well from all my other injuries. Yorkshire Air Ambulance saved my life and I hope the national partnership between the Association of Air Ambulances Charity and the Valuation Office Agency can help save many more right across the UK.”

Photo caption: 

Seated in the helicopter: Karen Hirst (Adrian’s wife).

2^nd row L-R: James Stubley (YAA Paramedic), Cpt Chris Attrill (YAA Pilot), Jo Moore (VOA Leeds Office Manager), Nikki Wright (Association of Air Ambulances), Thomas Lindie (VOA Operations Director). David Nicholls (VOA Head of People and Advisory Services)

Front row: Tony Wilks (YAA Paramedic), Dr Becky Isles (YAA Consultant), Adrian Hirst (patient)