Workington Golf Club has raised £2,500 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service.

The charity provides pre-hospital critical care across Cumbria, the North East and North Yorkshire and relies entirely on charity funding.

The money was raised through an open amateur tournament at the club, as well as donations made by individual club members.

Club captain John Atkinson who nominated this year’s charity said: “I chose the GNAAS as we had a van veer off the road onto the golf course.

“Daniel Rice, one of our members, did CPR on the injured man and the air ambulance was called.

“They got here really quickly.

“The infrastructure in Cumbria is not that good; we rely on the air ambulance here.”

Tracy Bowstead, from the GNAAS, received the donation.

She said: “It’s just fantastic that we have people like this.

“We simply couldn’t run without the support of the public and we’re extremely grateful.

“We have two helicopters which are based at Langwathby and Teeside airport.”

Richard Stephenson, 23, of Distington, witnessed the presentation of the cheque at Workington Golf Club.

In 2018, Richard’s life was saved by the GNAAS when he suffered horrific injuries in a road traffic accident.

Richard, whose father is also a member at the club, said: “I was impaled twice in the accident by pieces of fencing: in the chest and in the groin.

“A chest surgeon was flown out and performed surgery at the side of the road before I was airlifted to Newcastle RVI.

“Without the air ambulance, I wouldn’t be here.

“I owe everything to them; it shouldn’t be a charity.”

The club’s captain’s charity has raised about £6,500 for good causes over the last three years.