Yorkshire's air ambulance is appealing for businesses to follow the lead of Bradford company Sovereign Healthcare and become a corporate sponsor to keep its life-saving ambulances in the air.

Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) recently celebrated its seventh anniversary with the launch of a second ambulance based at Sheffield City Airport.

The first air ambulance is based at Leeds Bradford International Airport and together they cover the whole of Yorkshire and serve five million people, attending up to 1,000 incidents a year.

Yet for two days each week, one of the helicopters, its pilot, two paramedics and their equipment never leave the ground because YAA cannot afford to run both of them seven days a week.

Paul Gowland, director of fundraising for the charity, said: "Once a patient has been picked up by the YAA they will always be within ten minutes' flight of the nearest hospital and 15 minutes of the most relevant. This quick response can increase someone's chance of survival and recovery.

"It costs £2.5 million a year to fly both of our air ambulances. This amounts to £6,900 a day. We also have to continue paying off a large £3.6m asset loan used to purchase the two air ambulances.

"We rely solely on the generosity of individuals and sponsors to continue saving lives across the region. This support is the life-blood of our charity but we still have to raise funds to keep both ambulances off the ground and to raise enough money for a seven-day-week service in the future."

One of the charity's longest and most generous corporate supporter is Bradford-based healthcare cash plan provider Sovereign Healthcare which has given £70,000 in two pre-Christmas donations.

The non-profit organisation has so far donated £202,760 to YAA, including £100,000 in 2004 towards the cost of a new-generation helicopter.

Sovereign finance director Sarah Berry said: "We are proud to say we have supported YAA from the start, providing funding towards the cost of all three of its helicopters, the first of which is now in retirement.

"We will of course continue to give as much support as we can. I can only hope that our commitment to YAA will set a sponsorship benchmark for other companies to follow. It would be such an achievement to have both YAA's air ambulances saving lives across your region seven days a week."

To make a donation, call 0845 120 6060 or log on to www.yaa.org.uk.

e-mail: claire.lomax@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

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