CUSTOMERS of a fish and chip restaurant that has branches in Guiseley and Pudsey have helped raise £4,000 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA).

Collection tins were put out in Wetherby Whaler restaurants and diners obliged by filling them with their loose change.

Carrie Cheeseman  who was airlifted to hospital after she and her two young children were in an accident with a car near their home in Morley in 2009, and Kerry Garner, of YAA, picked up the bumper cheque.

Carrie, whose partner Stephen also needed the air ambulance the same year when he came off a bike while training for a triathlon, said: “It is fantastic that establishments such as the Wetherby Whaler support the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

“I, my husband and our two children are extremely grateful for the charity’s amazing crews and the invaluable work that the YAA does across Yorkshire.”

The Wetherby Whaler adopted YAA as its chosen charity in 2011 and has since raised nearly £10,000 for it.

Phillip Murphy, owner of the Wetherby Whaler, said: “The Yorkshire Air Ambulance does fantastic life-saving work across Yorkshire, so as a Yorkshire-based business, we thought it was only fitting that we show our support. I’d like to say a big thank you to all of our customers who donated their loose change – it’s amazing how a little can add up and go such a long way.”