PH'ers buy a chopper
PistonHeaders raise £240,000 for helicopter charity that saved Hammond
The chopper in action with PH sticker!
Immediately after the crash there was a huge swell of support for Hammond and even those who had never heard of the diminutive star found themselves reading about his plight on the front pages of the nation’s newspapers.
But it wasn’t just Hammond who was thrust into the spotlight.
A little known outfit called the Yorkshire Air Ambulance had airlifted Hammond from the scene of the accident and everyone wanted to know the story.
What most people didn’t know is the YAA is a charity that relies solely on the generosity of individuals and sponsors to save lives.
On hearing about the YAA, and how it had helped Hammond, two PistonHeaders known as ‘White Van Man” and “Tallbloke” set about raising some money for it to continue its good work.
‘I was sitting at work bored and started reading a thread about helping Hammond,' said Alex Goss, aka White Van Man.
'Lots of people were saying lets do this and that but no one was really doing anything,’
‘I saw the YAA was a charity and it seemed like the right place for money to go.’
He set up www.justgiving.com/PHRichardHammond in the hope of raising a few hundred pounds, but reached that target in half an hour.
After an overwhelming response from PistonHeads, the motoring community from across the world and general well wishers £194,135 was donated and once the giftaid was reclaimed from the government the total was taken to £240,348.67.
Now Hammond is back on TV and driving like a loon, so what happened to the money?
Well, it hasn’t sat in the bank or being used up as the daily running costs for the YAA helicopter.
It was used as a deposit to buy a much needed second helicopter for the YAA.
The new chopper, G-CEMS, is £1.5 million worth of the best life saving equipment money can buy.
The helicopter is one of the most advanced helicopters currently being used in the UK air ambulance service.
Some of you might have spotted it flying around the Sheffield area, it went into active duty on Saturday 13th October and is based at Sheffield City Airport.
The helicopter was officially launched on the 25th October - the seventh birthday of the YAA.
The helicopter is very similar to their existing one but with a few extra additions some of them you might expect to find on something James Bond would drive.
It has winching capabilities, cable cutters and a weather and mapping radar on the front.
These additions will enable them to access patients in more inaccessible locations and 24 hours a day if the relevant funding and NHS backing can be found.
The Yorkshire Air Ambulance and all other air ambulance charities depend upon the fundraising support from individuals, local companies and organisations.
Although it receives a small amount of government funding, in the form of paramedics seconded from the NHS, it relies on people to keep it flying.
Information on your local air ambulance charity can be found at www.airambulancecharities.co.uk and more information and how to support the YAA can be found at www.yaa.org.uk
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