A local haulage company has once again sent some Christmas cheer to the Wales Air Ambulance after donating £1,000 to the lifesaving charity.

Owens Group UK is no stranger to showing their support to the Wales Air Ambulance, last Christmas they also donated £1,000 to the charity and four years ago the haulage group re-painted a trailer with the aim to promote the hard work of the Welsh charity.

The large trailer was painted in striking green, red and white and is still an unmissable sight on the roads whilst it travels across the UK.

Wales Air Ambulance has four aircraft based across Wales, in Dafen, Caernarfon, Welshpool and Cardiff.  

Now operational 24/7, the Charity needs to raise £8 million every year to keep the helicopters flying.   

The South-Wales based haulage company is based a stone’s throw away from the Charity’s headquarters in Dafen, Llanelli. Despite being used to seeing the helicopter flying over its headquarters little did they know that the aircraft would be called out to help the son of one of their employees.

Last year Dafen Depot Manager Gareth Thomas’ son Cian was flown to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff after he fell seriously ill and needed specialist treatment. Thankfully Cian made a full recovery.

Reflecting on the importance of the 24/7 charity, Sian Lloyd of Owens group UK said: “Owens group have been based in Dafen for almost 50 years, with 2022 seeing us celebrating 50 years in business and we are very proud to support Wales Air Ambulance. Given that the Wales Air Ambulance’s base is a stone throw from one of our depots in Dafen, Llanelli, we very often witness the air ambulance in flight and can only imagine the scenes that they face daily.

“As an integral piece of kit in helping save lives, supporting the Wales Air Ambulance is of the uttermost importance to us as a Group to help the charity in some way to continue to deliver immediate critical care to patients across Wales.”

Wales Air Ambulance offers advanced critical care and is often described as a ‘Flying ED’. The on-board consultants and critical care practitioners are highly skilled and carry some of the most pioneering medical equipment in the world. They can deliver blood transfusions, administer anaesthesia and undertake emergency operations at the scene of the incident, before flying the patient directly to specialist care.  

The Wales Air Ambulance’s Campaign’s Manager, Katie Macro, said: “A huge thank you to Owens Group UK for their continued support of our lifesaving charity. Donations such as this one will help us to be there for the people of Wales when they need us most. Owens Group UK has continued to show fantastic support of our lifesaving service – their trailer is unmissable and continues to raise awareness of the Wales Air Ambulance charity. Thank you so much!”

There are several ways that the public can continue to support the Wales Air Ambulance. These include online donations, signing up to the Charity’s Lifesaving Lottery or by coming up with their own innovative ways to fundraise at home. Further information can be found via www.walesairambulance.com. 

Alternatively, a £5 text-message donation can be made by texting the word HELI to 70711.