BLOOD bikes volunteers made an impressive line up outside Truro Cathedral as they received a £25,000 donation from Cornwall’s Freemasons.

The Cornwall Blood Bikes were chosen to receive the cash award after a county-wide vote.

Ian Butler, the fundraising manager for Blood Bikes, said: ‘To have this amount of money donated to us is fantastic - It would take nearly two years and a lot of hard work to raise that amount of cash. We have been overwhelmed by the public response and we want to thank the Freemasons of Cornwall for their support.’

A brand new BMW response bike has already been put on order, said Ian - and the charity plans to buy two further second hand motorbikes to replace those in the fleet that have clocked up 140,000 miles each.

‘The new bikes will cut down on maintenance and off-road time as well as making us more efficient,’ Ian added.

‘This is a brilliant start to our campaign to update our fleet of machines.’

Ross Fisher is the charity steward for Caradon  Lodge, which meets in Saltash. Ross, who has been giving blood since he was 18, was  especially pleased with the donation to the Blood Bikes. He said: ‘Since 1995 I have been donating platelets (these are formed in the blood and help it clot and to stop bleeding). Last week was my 250th donation.

‘The Blood Bikers are a dedicated team, giving their time to keep such a vital service running.’