Two truckers from Ilkeston have completed a drive of around 2,000 miles from Ilkeston to Benidorm to raise funds for the local Air Ambulance with the aid of a member of staff from local car dealership Ron Brooks.
Lee Belfield and his friend Paul Ewing set off on their trip on 9th May, travelling to Dover, setting sail for France on 10th, crossing countries and arriving in Benidorm on 14th May.
Calling themselves Belly and Paolo, the two truckers travelled in a cheap 2005 registered car donated by Ilkeston-based car dealer Ron Brooks with the help of Assistant Sales Manager Neil Haynes.
They also had help from a sign writing company to put some promotional stickers on the car to make it road ready. Advertisers also helped to swell the amount being raised.
The Air Ambulance Service operates emergency helicopter services to make bereavement through trauma rare.
The car was set to be scrapped or sold on arrival, with any money raised also being added to the charity pot.
Funds were also raised via a JustGiving web page for friends, family and the public at large to contribute. The initial target was set at £1,000 but the amount raised kept growing and came to a whooping £1,670 in total but the fundraising has continued beyond that.
Lee Belfield shared: "The job of an HGV driver may not seem that extraordinary, but when you are driving on the roads day in, day out, you quickly realise how dangerous the roads can be and have seen too many serious accidents to know that time is against any person unfortunate enough to be injured in a traffic incident.
The air ambulance is a crucial part of the emergency services that are not government-funded and therefore entirely relies on donations like yours to help them keep flying these life-saving missions!"
You can visit their JustGiving page and donate by clicking here
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