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Taking to the road for the air ambulance
Posted on 24/08/2009
Highways, Transportation & Waste Management
A Leicestershire County Council employee is embarking on a six-month motorcycle tour in a bid to raise money for the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA).
Stuart Dowell, 43, is due to set off from his home in Mountsorrel on 31 August to start his 15,000 mile motorcycle journey across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
He will travel down to Dover where Norfolk Line Ferries have donated a complimentary ferry crossing to Dunkirk.
Stuart has been given six months unpaid leave by Leicestershire County Council from his job as a vehicle technician in the Highways department.
He said: “I have been planning this meticulously over many months. But all my plans have had to be shelved when things were thrown into disarray by Iran's refusal to grant me entry into their wonderful country.
“Prompted by this, I have just purchased a compass and have a fair sense of direction so I will make it up as I go along!”
Lesley Pendleton, Leicestershire County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, said: "This is a great initiative to raise money for a very worthy cause. Everyone at the County Council is wishing him the very best of luck.”
Barbara Parish, Regional Fundraising Manager for the DLRAA, said “We are really grateful to Stuart for supporting the Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance as, every year, we have to raise £1.5 million to keep the service operational.
“We do not receive any money from the Government and neither do we qualify for Lottery funding. We hope that the public sponsor Stuart and we wish him well and look forward to welcoming him back to the UK next year.”
Further information about the Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance is available on www.dlraa.co.uk or by calling the appeals line on 0844 8005710.
Pledges to support Stuart on his journey can be made by visiting: www.justgiving.com/stuart-lost-presumed-fed
- Notes to Editors -
Photo opportunity
Stuart will be available for photographs at the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance base at East Midlands Airport on Thursday 27 August at 3.15pm.
- The DLRAA is a registered charity, which receives no government or lottery funding. It costs over £1.5 million each year to keep this vital service flying high and saving lives.
- HEMS stands for Helicopter Emergency Medical Services
- Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance is made possible through two full-time pilots, two relief pilots, seven full-time paramedics who are supported by East Midlands Ambulance Service and one full-time doctor, kindly provided through partnership agreement with the Royal Air Force. There are also several part-time doctors.
- The DLRAA uses the Agusta 109 helicopter, which can be airborne in just 45 seconds. The Agusta has a top speed of 200mph
- From its base at East Midlands Airport, DLRAA can reach Leicester Royal Infirmary in minutes, Derbyshire City Hospital and Glenfield Hospital in under five minutes and Queens Hospital Nottingham in just three minutes, For further information or to arrange an interview or photographs please contact: Kit Harris, PR Manager, on 07545 426035.