Last updated at 16:35, Thursday, 20 December 2012

MILLOM’S remote location and poor access roads inspired a bike group’s fundraising challenge for a life saving charity.

Millom Bike Group has presented the Great North Air Ambulance with a £4,000 donation, taking the total amount raised they have raised for the charity over the £15,000 mark.

The group’s chairman, Bill Jones, said: “We feel passionately about doing our little bit to help them with funds, first and foremost for the biking fraternity, but also for anyone else, because they save lives in a big way.

“We’re stuck out on a limb in Millom. If you need hospital treatment after an accident, it’s either Barrow or Whitehaven, and the A595 is just as bad in both directions.

“It can take an ambulance an hour to get through.”

Members of the bike group completed the national three peaks challenge, climbing Snowdon in Wales, Scafell Pike in England and Ben Nevis in Scotland, in 24 hours earlier this year.

As well as the £3,000 from the three peaks challenge, the group collected a further thousand pounds from various charity rides, a donation from Furness Building Society and an award for marshalling at this year’s Keswick 2 Barrow walk.

Mr Jones said: “We’ve been supporting the Great North Air Ambulance for the last 10 years and raised more than £15,000 for them.

“They came and gave us a talk at our monthly meeting, going through fundamentals and giving us guidelines on what to do if there is an accident.

“There’s been a few farming accidents and sports injuries where the air ambulance has been able to get straight to them.

“We’ve been lucky that we haven’t had to call on them, and I hope we never have to.

“But I know that if they were called on they would be there.

“We go all over – places that are not always very accessible to emergency services.”

“They do a great job and you never know when you’re going to need them.”

l Furness British Motorcycle Club (FBMCC) also presented the air ambulance with a donation for £680.

The money was raised from the annual bike show, held at Hawcoat Park, Barrow.

First published at 16:13, Thursday, 20 December 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk