WORKMATES of a man saved by the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) will take part in a four day rugby and walking challenge.
Steve Higgins, from Carlisle, was involved in a serious head-on collision with a speeding vehicle which then fled the scene. After treatment on the roadside, GNAAS flew him to The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.
A year on from the incident, Mr Higgins has made a remarkable recovery. The accident happened while he was working for Northern Gas Networks (NGN) maintenance team and so his colleagues have teamed together to take on the rigorous four day challenge to raise money for GNAAS and South Tees Hospitals Charity.
On April 11th, NGN staff will take to the field to compete in the VETS Tens which precedes the world famous Melrose Sevens rugby tournament. They will then embark on a three day, 90 mile walking challenge from Scotland to Carlisle.
The charity challenge will see Martin Alderson, Howard Forster, Andy Irwin, Tom Notman and Nick Phillips trek across Northumberland’s hills to raise money for the organisations that were critical to Mr Higgins early care.
Howard Forster, from NGN, said: “I am delighted to be able to organise this event in honour of Steve. Last year, thanks to the fantastic support of colleagues, we raised over £4,000 for the Higgins family as well as the organisations that helped Steve following his accident. We hope we can build on the success of last year’s fundraiser and encourage everyone to get behind this great cause.”
Jim Entwistle, from GNAAS, said: “This is going to be a tough challenge so we have great respect for the team from Northern Gas Networks for taking part. Once more they are stepping out for the charity and we are delighted to have them as supporters. The funds raised will keep our aircraft in the air across the region and will benefit future air ambulance patients. Good luck to everyone taking part.”
To support the team in raising money for two great causes, make a donation to their JustGiving pages: http://www.justgiving.com/GreatNorthAirAmbulanceStevenHiggins and http://www.justgiving.com/JamesCookHospitalStevenHiggins
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