A fish and chip supper social evening for enthusiasts of John Deere tractors group included a cheque presentation to their chosen charity.

The group come together at small events throughout the year with the main event being ‘The Gathering of the Greens’ annual event held each year at Parc Grace Dieu Farm at the Hendre, courtesy of local John Deere dealer, Frank Sutton.

The money raised from these events is donated to their chosen charity which this year again was the Wales Air Ambulance.

The tractor enthusiasts recognise that in a rural location, the security of knowing that there is such a valuable emergency service available is invaluable.

Frank presented a cheque for £1,000 to Robert Evans, volunteer for the Wales Air Ambulance saying “Robert is here to collect a donation which all of you have contributed to.”

Thanking everyone for the “marvellous” donation to the Wales Air Ambulance, Robert went on to say that up to date their mission count by the helicopters and the Rapid Response vehicles since March 2001 when they started is now over 52,000 missions.

“Our budget is challenging but it’s only through organisations such as yourselves and your kind donations that we are able to stay on the road and keep in the air.”

To give them an idea of the costs involved in keeping the air ambulance going, Robert explained that the helmets the pilots use are £1,300 and the average mission, although each one is different depending on climatic conditions and the terrain, a combination call-out of both vehicle and helicopter equates to about £3,800.

“The support we get from communities and organisations across the whole of Wales is terrific and without you, we could not stay in the air.”

The Wales Air Ambulance is a charity funded by the people of Wales and relies entirely on donations from organisations and communities across Wales to keep the helicopters in the air and the rapid response vehicles on the road 365 days a year.

They have four H145 helicopters plus one reserve, which are based in Dafen, Cardiff, Welshpool and Caernarfon and fund a fleet of eight Volvo XC90s which can carry exactly the same pioneering equipment on board as the aircraft.

The evening then continued with a fish and chip supper provided by Orchard Catering based in Longtown.

The grand draw prize of a strimmer was won by 13-year-old Alex Savidge who had only broken his own strimmer that morning.

The Gathering of the Greens is held the first weekend in July and celebrates everything John Deere in true country style and has been meeting for over 15 years. It attracts Deere enthusiasts from all over the UK and the USA.

This year’s Gathering of the Greens will take place on the 5th July and for more information on the event please contact by email: [email protected] or visit the website: www.parcgracedieufarm.co.uk.

To find out more about the Wales Air Ambulance Charity please visit: www.walesairambulance.com