The Great North Air Ambulance, a charity that provides vital emergency medical services through their three air ambulances across the North East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria, received a £6000 donation from a recent charity clay shoot held by The Northern Pennines Moorland Group at Knarsdale Estate.
The annual charity clay shoot drew more than 120 competitors and raised £3000. A cheque for this amount was presented to the Great North Air Ambulance to aid the critical medical services their teams provide in delivering pioneering pre-hospital care to accident scenes and remote areas, rescuing hundreds of severely injured or ill patients every year.
Knarsdale, a grouse moor and sporting estate, hosted the clay shoot and provided staff and services. Knarsdale pledged an additional £3000 to match the funds raised to further support the Air Ambulance and their crews.
“The vital services the Great North Air Ambulance provides are incredible,” said John Palmer, Head Gamekeeper at Knarsdale Estate. “These “Air Angels” fly about 1,000 emergency medical calls a year, complete with on-board doctors and paramedics. We are proud to support them, as their work is particularly critical in rural areas such as ours. Without them, many lives would be lost.”
Sophie Weir, Public Liaison Assistant for GNAAS, said “We are very grateful to the Northern Pennines Moorland Group and Knarsdale Estate for their significant contribution as we are dependent on charitable donations to survive. This money will help us to continue to deliver a world-class pre-hospital care service to the people of our region.”
As well as charity fundraising the North Pennines Moorland Group focus more widely on community engagement and education in regards to the economic and environmental benefits of gamekeeping and managed sporting estates. The Group manage over 50,000 acres of heather moorland and contribute £1.3 million to the local economy through seasonal salaries alone.
