Staff from Castleford College have ridden over 400 miles for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, raising more than £545 for the charity.

Their latest ride started at the College with the team making their way to the east coast, covering seaside towns Bridlington and Scarborough. Andy Kitchen, Lecturer in Engineering and Automotive, said:

“The team of riders consists of staff from all areas of the College, with many of us keen motor cyclists. Between us, we have ridden more than 400 miles to fundraise for Yorkshire Air Ambulance. The charity is special to us all as it does so much to help bikers across the Yorkshire area and the wider community and that is why we plan to make this an annual charity ride.”

Additional Learning Support Officer, Claire Coppin, took part in the challenge to show her support for Yorkshire Air Ambulance after she was airlifted to hospital by Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s crews following a road traffic incident in 2006.

Acknowledging their achievements, Stephanie Maynard, the West Yorkshire Community Fundraiser from Yorkshire Air Ambulance, visited the College to present the staff with their cheque.

Claire Roberts, Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said:

“Castleford College’s donation is a real lifesaver. It will help us provide a rapid response emergency service to five million people. On average, our crews respond to around 1,700 incidents each year – that’s nearly five missions a day across Yorkshire."

"Thanks to generous donations such as this, we now have plans to improve our service by expanding our fleet to include a third helicopter and employing our own Technical Crew Members. This means we will have greater operational availability, which is so important to us, our patients and the people of Yorkshire.”

Yorkshire Air Ambulance is an independent charity providing a lifesaving rapid response emergency service to five million people across the whole of Yorkshire.