Sandbach Mayor Councillor Geraint Price Jones is hoping his charity fundraiser literally takes off this weekend.

Every year the town mayor nominates a charity and Cllr Price Jones has named the North West Air Ambulance for this year – a cause close to his heart.

And this weekend he and his consort Christina Price Jones are holding a tombola outside Sandbach Town Hall on Saturday (December 11th).

There will be over 50 tombola prizes up for grabs from alcohol to aftershave kindly donated by local people, market traders and local shops.

He said: "This charity is one of the most important in the UK alongside the RNLI as they save countless lives each year.

"We have two air ambulance stations in the North West and we are served by Barton in Greater Manchester.

"The service is entirely funded by the charitable donations and we need to keep up the momentum as the costs rise every year.

"The charity came to my notice last year as my daughter, a local paramedic, had to assist a patient who needed assistance in the helicopter all the way to the hospital."

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The North West Ambulance Service operates 365 days a year and attended more than 2,500 incidents last year.

The crew delivers enhanced pre-hospital care to the most critically ill and injured and transports patients to the most appropriate hospital to achieve the best outcomes.

North West Ambulance Service receives no Government or NHS funding and has to raise more than £9.5 million to keep operational.