Wales Air Ambulance has financially benefited thanks to the caravanning weekend held at Rhug Estate during the August Bank Holiday weekend. The event was organised by this year’s Royal Welsh Feature County, Clwyd.

A cheque for over £1,000 was recently presented to the Wales Air Ambulance by Lord Newborough, owner of Rhug Estate, who loaned the field for the event with no charge. The Estate regularly raises funds for the Air Ambulance in Wales with events including a Christmas Carol Service.

On presenting the cheque, Lord Newborough said, “On behalf of Rhug Estate and the RWAS feature county, Clwyd, I am privileged to be able to present this cheque to a very worthwhile cause. With a widely scattered population and diverse landscape, many in Wales live in isolated locations, far from a major or specialist hospital. For these reasons, there is a recognised need for the services of the Wales Air Ambulances.

“This is a truly wonderful organisation which has saved many lives in the area. To bring it close to home, one of our staff members was whisked off to hospital recently after a serious accident to receive urgent attention. The minutes and seconds saved by the use of this service  can mean the difference between life and death.”

Wales Air Ambulance needs to raise £8 million every year to operate the service with the charity relying totally on public donations to raise all the funds for day to day running of missions. Wales Air Ambulance covers the whole of Wales every single day. Each year their helicopters attend around 2,500 missions, covering rural countryside, towns and cities.

This includes the length of the Welsh coastline and across the vast mountain ranges. The four airbase operations in Caernarfon, Llanelli, Welshpool and Cardiff are ready to save lives wherever needed. The site where the Wales Air Ambulance service is based at Llandwrog airfield, near Caernarfon, is owned by Lord Newborough.

Capt. James Grenfell, Regional Managing Pilot for the Wales Air Ambulance said, “On behalf of our pilots, medical team and staff at Wales Air Ambulance, I would like to thank you for your donation of £1,006.58. Thank you for offering use of the estate for the RWAS Clwyd 2020 weekend and supporting us. Your support means we are now able to provide lifesaving emergency care in Wales 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

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.