A DOCTOR has set himself a mammoth challenge in a bid to raise much-needed funds for the region's air ambulance.

Jeff Doran has been on the NHS's frontline in the fight against coronavirus and also works for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).

He has witnessed first-hand the impact of Covid-19 on people's lives and has also seen how charities have been hard-hit, losing hundreds of thousands of pounds of income they need to survive.

As more and more fundraising events were cancelled Dr Doran decided to set himself a challenge - but ended up taking on three. He's called it Go BIG or (Can't) Go Home and hopes to raise as much money as possible for GNAAS.

He and some of his colleagues completed the GYROplus 101-mile bike ride on Saturday and are now preparing to take on the GYRO base2base challenge - a 150-mile cycle route from GNAAS headquarters, in Eaglescliffe, to its base in Langwathby and back again - this weekend.

Dr Doran, who has been involved with GNAAS for 11 years, had signed up to the Great North Run this year and has decided he will still run the 13.1 mile distance on Sunday, September 13, the day the race was due to mark its 40th anniversary.

He said: "I decided to take on three separate challenges to highlight the extent that COVID-19 is impacting fundraising at GNAAS and across the charity sector as a whole.

"Each of the events represents an event that has had to be cancelled due to COVID-19, bringing with it a significant loss in fundraising income for the charity. Just doing one event wouldn’t have had the same impact."

Around his busy shift pattern he's managed to fit in training but said even that has been a challenge.

"All the doctors at GNAAS work for the NHS as well as the charity and so we all felt an increased amount of pressure as the pandemic hit," he continued. "I used my off time to exercise and try maintain my physical and mental health but working a shift pattern can really impact motivation and also the body’s ability to adapt to training so it hasn’t always been easy."

To donate visit justgiving.com/fundraising/go-big-or-cant-go-home.