Tyne Tees Great North Air Ambulance News

The family of a man from Sunderland who died after his motorbike was involved in a collision have paid tribute to a "wonderful husband and dad".

Neil Hamilton died after his motorbike crashed into a 4x4 vehicle on April 3 on the B6301 near Tow Law.

His wife Christine, and their sons Mark and Christopher, have thanked the public for their support and are appealing for anyone who would like to make a donation to give money to The Great North Air Ambulance.

Christine Hamilton said:

"We are devastated at the loss of a wonderful husband and dad, who is sadly missed by all who knew him. He leaves an emptiness in our hearts and lives that will never be filled."

Mark and Christopher Hamilton said:

"Dad greatly appreciated the work of the air ambulance. As they were also involved at the scene following the incident, anyone who would like to express themselves in our dad's memory, please feel free to make a donation to The Great North Air Ambulance via this link."

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• Sunderland
• Great North Air Ambulance

A motorcycle group which raised more than £300,000 in little over six years for an air ambulance which covers the North East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria has announced its latest challenges.

Boundary 500 Motorcycle Group will head out on rides covering the 500 mile circumference of the Great North Air Ambulance's Service area.

Riders can take one or two days to complete the journey, which starts and finishes at Kirkleatham Hall in Redcar on June 29.

The route takes in Berwick, Carlisle, Whitehaven, Kendal, York and Scarborough.

There will also be a start and finish point in Cumbria, which is yet to be announced.

The following day, the Boundary 500 Classic Motorcycle Challenge takes in 130 miles around the North Yorkshire Moors.

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• Great North Air Ambulance
• North East

A Northumberland motocross biker, who suffered a depressed skull fracture when he was flipped off his bike, is to complete an endurance challenge to raise funds for the air ambulance service which helped to save his life.

Robert Gibb was off-road biking when he hit a stone and was catapulted over the handle bars near to his home in Eachwick.

Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) airlifted him to Newcastle General Hospital where he spent 15 days having four plates fitted in his head following the accident in 2006.

Robert has now pledged his support to GNAAS by signing up for the Clif Bar Lake District 10 peak challenge.

The challenge is a non-stop run and hike over the ten highest peaks in Cumbria's Lake District. The course covers about 73 kilometres with more than 5,600 metres of ascent.

"There is a really good chance I wouldn't be here today if the air ambulance hadn't got to me so quickly.

I was able to get back on my bike again after 10 months and continued to race up until last year. I look forward to completing the gruelling challenge and I hope to raise funds for GNAAS in the process.

I want to thank the surgeons at Newcastle General Hospital, the air ambulance who got to the scene so quickly and everyone who has helped me on my road to recovery."

"We're delighted that Robert is back fit and raising money for us.

It looks to be a very testing challenge so we wish him all the best."

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• charity
• Great North Air Ambulance

It has been revealed that Captain Pete Barnes, the pilot who died in a helicopter crash in central London this morning, spent time working in the North East.

In 2004 he helped rescue a motorist from a flooded ford in County Durham, while working for the Great North Air Ambulance.

He also flew the Newcastle Traffic & Travel helicopter as the Voice of Metro FM and worked as a helicopter instructor.

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• Aviation
• Great North Air Ambulance

A woman had to be airlifted to hospital after a crash in North Yorkshire on Saturday.

The incident happened near Castle Howard when a car collided with a tree at around 12:30pm. A 23-year-old woman suffered abdominal and shoulder injuries, and was flown to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

Her condition has been described as stable and not life-threatening. Three other people who were in the car were also taken to hospital.

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• North Yorkshire
• car crash

The Great North Air Ambulance was called to a riding school in Loftus to assist the land ambulance crew on scene with a female patient who had substained a injury whlist riding her horse.She was flown to James Cook University Hospital with a flight time of 5 minutes.

The patient arrived at the hospital in a stable condition and her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

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• Great North Air Ambulance
• Loftus

A man is in a critical condition after a collision between his motorcycle and a car in Northumberland.

It happened just before two thirty this afternoon on the B6305 at Lowgate near Hexham.

The Great North Air Ambulance flew the casualty to hospital. The car driver was not injured.

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• Great North Air Ambulance
• Hexham