A developer has helped Cornwall Air Ambulance fund a life-saving trip from the charity after making a £5,000 donation. 

Persimmon Homes Cornwall and West Devon donated the money to the much-loved organisation, matching the cost of an average helicopter call-out. 

Cornwall Air Ambulance is operational 19 hours a day, 365 days a year, and on average attends around 1,000 missions every year. The aircrew can reach anywhere in mainland Cornwall in 20 minutes, usually reaching their destination in 12 minutes, and the Isles of Scilly within 30 minutes. 

The developer has recently started developing at its Trevithick Manor Park site in Newquay – a few miles from where the air ambulance is based at the local airport.

The company’s sales director Jane Cartwright said: “Cornwall Air Ambulance is a charity that is close to my heart, but is also much-loved across the county, so we were delighted to be able to support them with our donation. 

“The staff and volunteers here exemplify what we look for when making the difficult decision of who to donate to through Persimmon’s Community Champions scheme, and it is heartening to know that it will fund a life-saving trip for someone in Cornwall.” 

Julia Jeffrey, corporate fundraising officer of Cornwall Air Ambulance, added: “We are very grateful to Persimmon for their generous donation, which will undoubtedly help more families in their time of need. We rely on the generosity of local people, communities and businesses to raise the vital funds needed to keep your helicopter flying. 

“The donation will go towards funding more of our lifesaving work, whether this be specialist medical kit for the paramedics and doctors, aviation costs, keeping the operations running or even paying for fuel for missions in your AW169 helicopter.”