A BRAND new blood bike funded by a £25,000 donation has already completed 600 miles of service in just its first week.

The ‘Spirit of Cornwall’ - a BMW 1200 RT, and the Cornwall Blood Bikes first ever brand new vehicle - was unveiled at a charity gala evening.

Presenting the keys to CBB chairman James Forder was Stephen Pearn, who is provincial grand master for the Cornwall Freemasons. The bike was purchased as a result of a grant of £25,000, the highest made by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cornwall in 2017.

As guests arrived for a black tie event at the Alverton Hotel in Truro, they were greeted by on-duty bikers Paul Thomas and Burt Reynolds, who were ready to respond to any demands for the safe transportation of blood that might come in from the NHS during the evening.

Among the guests were representatives from NHS partners across Cornwall, Cornwall Hospice Care, and colleagues from the fellow blood bike group Freewheelers EVS. The Cornwall Blood Bikes liaise closely with the Freewheelers to courier urgent samples to specialist laboratories at Filton, Bristol.

The glitzy evening, and the welcome addition of a brand new vehicle to the fleet, were a far cry from the humble beginnings of the charity, said chairman James Forder and vice chairman Stephan Mellows.

The gala night itself, which included an auction, raised almost £3000 towards the vital work carried out by Cornwall Blood Bikes.

Spokesperson Jayne Penlerick said: ‘You can see just from Spirit of Cornwall’s first week, that this new bike is essential and a vital part of our service to our NHS partners.

‘It will serve the communities and people of Cornwall, couriering essential supplies such as blood, pathology samples, medication and much more to our hospitals and hospices - and all completely for free.

‘Without the help from The Province of Cornwall, none of this would have been possible, and it has been a true honour and pleasure to work alongside each other over the last six months,’ she continued.

‘The biggest heartfelt thank you to the Province, and the public of Cornwall for being beside us for every mile of our journey.’