Mayor provides gift of life to air ambulance

Former Mayor of Coleshill Councillor Adam Richardson has donated £2,530 to Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) thanks to a programme of events in his year of office.

Cllr Richardson had no hesitation when it came to selecting WNAA as his chosen charity, having needed an air ambulance himself after a life-changing fall back in 1999.

Despite the impact of the Covid pandemic, Cllr Richardson was still able to host a number of fundraising events such as Karaoke with the Mayor and a much-needed sponsored haircut.

Cllr Richardson had been growing his hair since he first ran in the local elections and five years later, in the office of Mayor, he had 20 inches of his hair cut off which was sent off to The Little Princess Trust.

In March 2020, just days before the first lockdown, Cllr Richardson hosted A Night at the Musicals with the local Operatic Society ‘Coleshill on Stage’. And even in lockdown, the fundraising events continued with a fun, virtual quiz.

“Having needed an air ambulance myself, I know that it is vital we keep this lifesaving service going,” said Cllr Richardson.

“Having raised this money as the Mayor it just goes to show that people believe in this cause. I was highly honoured to be able to hand over this cheque knowing that it will help someone else just as the Air Ambulance helped me all those years ago.

“I would like to extend a special thank you to Coleshill on Stage for their support and sheer professionalism. My time as Mayor may have come to an end, but my fundraising does not stop here. My support will be for life, in the hope that we can keep the air ambulance in the air forevermore and keep it continuing to save lives.”

WNAA is crewed by critical care paramedics, doctors and pilots and attend an average of 10 rescue missions a day. Within minutes, they can be on the ground delivering lifesaving care at road traffic collisions, sports events, and industrial accidents or for medical emergencies such as cardiac arrest, stroke or accidents in the home.

The air ambulance gives people the very best chance of survival and recovery. Its helicopter can fly at 185mph and carry the very latest lifesaving equipment.

The charity also provides critical care cars, which ensure valuable backup for incidents close to the helicopter base or when the weather makes it too dangerous to fly. It also enables the doctors and critical care paramedics to be run a night car service so they are available to reach those in need 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

The charity receives no funding from the government or National Lottery for our daily missions and we rely entirely on donations to raise the £1,700 we need for each rescue mission.