Great North Air Ambulance Service

A MAN who witnessed the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) in action 20 years ago, has been inspired to run half marathons to raise funds for the charity.

Andrew Boase, 54, from Hartlepool was driving to Whitby in the summer in 2003 and was waiting in a queue of traffic when a car crashed into the back of his on Birk Brow Bank near Charltons village, Saltburn-by-the-Sea.

He said: “I was waiting in the queue in my car when there was an unbelievable smash straight into the rear of my car.

“It was found that a Vauxhall Astra had come flying up behind at speed from Guisborough and straight into the stationary traffic queue, of which my car had been at the back, and received the full impact.”

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), who had been operating as a charity for a year at this point, flew to the scene to help those involved in the incident.

Despite the damage to Mr Boase’s car, thankfully he was not seriously injured, and was mainly shook up from the incident.

He said: “I was so happy to see GNAAS turn up. They stepped through bushes of a nearby field after landing close by near Charltons village.

“They were really nice and gave calming words of advice. I was mainly suffering shock and surprise after being shook up from what just happened. I was feeling very lucky it wasn’t a worse situation.”

Mr Boase suffered pain and stiffness from the crash and later visited a hospital to be checked over.

He said: “After overcoming the incident I recovered well and I’m back to my normal self of good health and wellbeing.”

Mr Boase is a keen runner who regularly takes part in the Great North Run, which is a half marathon that takes place annually in the North East.

Last year he decided to take the opportunity to raise funds for GNAAS and received over £500 in sponsorship money.

He said: “I managed to raise a substantial amount of fundraising for GNAAS and got an amazing amount of support from the whole of the North East, from Skelton right up to Newcastle, including Darlington and all areas covered by me during my job as a 7.5 Tonne Royal Mail wagon driver, as well as a Royal Mail qualified first aider for about 25 years.”

Mr Boase has now decided to run the Great North Run again next year to raise even more funds for GNAAS.

He said: “I’ve always wanted to do something to give back to GNAAS after what they did for me.

“I have total respect and support for them all, they are all amazing and absolute lifesavers that are much needed in emergency situations.”

About GNAAS

• The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) is a charitably funded air ambulance service which provides life-saving care throughout the North East, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Isle of Man.
  
• They operate two helicopters 365 days a year and also operate a night-time service in the North East and Cumbria on rapid response vehicles.
  
  
• The aircraft cover an area of more than 8,000 square miles and on board are specialist doctors and paramedics who effectively bring the hospital to the patient.
  
  
• The level of skill and expertise of the on-board team mean they respond to the most critically ill and injured people, giving them the best chance of survival.
  
  
• GNAAS is a progressive organisation which has pioneered pre-hospital care in the region.
  
• The latest techniques, equipment and drugs are constantly being evaluated to ensure the charity can provide the best care possible for their patients.
  
  
• 2022 marked the service providing 20 years of life-saving care. Throughout this time, they have responded to more than 23,500 incidents across the region, with road traffic collisions being the most frequent type of incident responded to by the team.
  
  
• They do not receive Government funding and must therefore raise £8.5m a year through public donations to remain operational.