A kind hearted little boy from County Durham has raised money for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) – to say ‘Thank-you’ for the treatment his Dad received when the family was involved in an unfortunate road traffic accident.
8-year-old, Jack Chorlton, from Willington, decided to put his best foot forward and took part in the mini Great North Run last month, with the aim to raise £100 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service.
After setting up his own page on JustGiving for the GNAAS, the total has now topped the £400 mark.
Jack said; “I just wanted to raise some money for the Great North Air Ambulance Service because they looked after my Dad when we had the car accident and because I think they do a brilliant job.”
Earlier this year, Jack, his Dad, James and Mum, Helen were involved in an unfortunate accident whilst travelling to visit Jack’s Grandma, Anne, who lives at Arnside in Cumbria.
Freak weather conditions on the A685, near Tebay inCumbria, resulted in the family’s Mazda6 car spinning off the road and rolling multiple times down an embankment until it eventually came to a stop in the middle of a field.
Fortunately Helen managed to free herself from the vehicle safely and was able to alert the emergency services using her mobile phone, while Jack and his Dad remained in the vehicle until help arrived. 
Jack and his Mum travelled by Ambulance to Cumberland Infirmary while Jack’s Dad, had to be cut free from the vehicle and was airlifted to hospital with potentially serious head injuries.
Within ten minutes, James arrived at hospital and received the emergency treatment he desperately needed, which saved his life.
After 19 stitches and 13 staples to his head and an overnight stay in hospital, James was discharged the following day.
James was the first patient to be airlifted to hospital in darkness following a recent change within the GNAAS which allows trained pilots to transfer patients between hospitals or take patients away from the scene of an accident as dusk falls.
Chief Executive Grahame Pickering said: “We are just happy we were able to help James. We are now able to fly more than ever before so he won’t be the last person to benefit from these changes. But we could not do any of this without the help of people like Jack. His fundraising efforts are outstanding and very much appreciated.”
James who works as a franchise manager for Jennings Mazda in Middlesbrough, can’t praise the Great North Air Ambulance Service enough, he said;
“The GNAAS saves lives every day and I will be eternally grateful for the help and treatment I received, as well as the other emergency services that assisted my wife and son.”
In addition to benefiting from this new service, James was also told that it was mainly down to the safety features in his new Mazda6 2.2 Diesel Sport car, which also contributed towards not only saving his life, but also the lives of his wife and son.
James added; “The Mazda6 Diesel Sport model I was driving at the time of the accident, is fitted with a number of safety features, all of which contributed towards saving our lives.”
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