Two friends complete road trip to help save lives

Truckers, Paul Ewing and Lee Belfield completed a ‘Benidorm or Bust’ Challenge and raised £2,070 for the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA).

The duo completed a whopping c.2000mile road trip (top gear style) all the way from Dover to Benidorm in “an old banger.” Over 150 other cars took place in this three-day challenge that travelled through France and Spain.

The intrepid truckers Lee and Paul decided to support DLRAA because, all too often during their work, they see first-hand accidents the air ambulance attends.

Lee explained: “The job of an HGV driver may not seem that extraordinary, but when you are driving on the road day in, day out, you quickly realise how dangerous the roads can be and have seen too many serious accidents to know that time is against any person unfortunate enough to be injured in a traffic incident.

“The air ambulance is a crucial part of the emergency services that is not government-funded and therefore relies entirely on donations like yours to help them keep flying these lifesaving missions!”

In order to complete the challenge, Paul and Lee had to find an “old banger” that would get them all the way to Benidorm. Thankfully, a local car dealership gave them the vital support that they needed.

Thanking their kind supporter, Paul said: “Ron Brooks Toyota in Ilkeston kindly donated a 2005 Toyota Corolla Verso for the trip. The car was very reliable, but we nearly ran out of fuel before we got to Benidorm!

“We didn’t want to spend much due to selling the car – we sold the car after the challenge which raised an additional £400 for the charity, so a huge thank you to the Toyota team for that amazing contribution.”

Thanking the truckers for their effort, Community Fundraising Executive, Laura Sage, said:

“The support of our local communities is so important to our charity as we rely solely on generous donations. I’d like to thank Lee and Paul for their amazing fundraising and for completing such a brilliant challenge – it looks like they had great fun!

“Our crews are available, 24/7, 365 days a year, so support like this means that we can continue to deliver our lifesaving, frontline critical care to those who need it most.”

Anybody wishing to participate in some fundraising events for the charity, click here.

(By Eli Hines)