A WOMAN whose life was saved by the region’s air ambulance visited the charity yesterday to draw its annual raffle.
Stella Downing, of Pickering, North Yorkshire, had to call upon the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) when she suffered a severe brain haemorrhage last year.
Now fully recovered, the accounts worker visited the charity’s Darlington headquarters to draw the winners of the 2013 GNAAS car raffle.
The top prize of a brand new Suzuki Alto car went to a ticket holder from Long Newton, near Darlington.
Second prize of an overnight stay at luxury hotel Rockliffe Hall, Hurworth, was won by a ticket holder in Prudhoe, Northumberland.
The third prize, £100, was won by a ticket holder in the Hartlepool area.
Mrs Downing, who is now fundraising for GNAAS, said: “I was just happy to be asked to do the draw. They saved my life, the charity means everything to me.”
Mandy Drake, head of fundraising at GNAAS, said more than 111,000 tickets were sold for the raffle, with an additional £20,000 in donations taking the overall income to more than £130,000.
The money would be spent flying life-saving missions, she said. “We would like to thank everyone who supported the draw by buying a ticket,” she added.
“To raise more than £130,000 for the charity is a phenomenal achievement and one which will save lives throughout our region.”
First prize winning ticket number: 571723
Second prize: 100261
Third prize: 375432
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