Burnley residents urged to put the kettle on for the air ambulance

A life-saving charity is asking the public to raise a mug as it launches its "Brew with the Crew" campaign.
By Faiza Afzaal
Published 17th May 2019, 14:40 BST
Updated 17th May 2019, 15:40 BST
Raising a mug to honour the life-saving crewRaising a mug to honour the life-saving crew
Raising a mug to honour the life-saving crew

The North West Air Ambulance celebrates its 20th anniversary and over the next few months will bring members of the public together over tea, coffee and cake, to keep its air ambulance crews in the sky.

Back at their Blackpool and Barton base, the charity’s crew miss an approximate 6,782 brews each year due to mission call outs. Sometimes no sooner than the kettle is on, the crew are called out to reach critically injured patients across all corners of the North West, from Stoke to Carlisle.

So, as the crew save lives whilst their teas and coffees cool, NWAA urges people to brew up and raise funds for this vital cause over a cake and cuppa!

Andy Duncan, Lead Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) Paramedic at the charity, said: “To be able to celebrate our 20th birthday is testament to the fantastic support of our amazing fundraisers and volunteers. As an organisation, which is entirely dependent on charitable contributions, we quite literally couldn’t do it without them.

“It’s a bit of a running joke amongst our crew that as soon as we click the kettle on, that’s when we always seem to get a mission call-out! There’s never any delay though – we’re straight onto the aircraft, getting to where our patients are as soon as possible.”

Just £9 can fuel one of NWAA’s three helicopters for one minute of a mission. A donation of £25 can buy a warming blanket to maintain the body temperature of a severe trauma patient, and £650 can provide a specialist stretcher to ensure that patients with neck or spinal injuries can be transported to hospital safely. No matter how big or small your donation is, you will be helping to save a life.

To receive your free fundraising pack complete with games, recipes, bunting and much more – head to nwaa.net/bwtc, call 0800 587 4570 or contact [email protected].