Following the announcement Hexham was voted the happiest place to live in England, the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) has stated they have received over £1 million in donations from the Hexham area since records began.

In 2020, the GNAAS responded to 1,261 call-outs, facilitated by the public's generosity in donations.

A spokesperson for the charity said: "None of this would be possible without the help of the people in our region and beyond."

"The GNAAS needs to raise over £5 million pounds annually to survive. We are entirely public-funded so to have received over £1 million in donations from Hexham since our records began is just phenomenal."

Since they started recording public donations in 2009 but their roots go back to 1991, it is likely the people of Hexham have actually donated more, "which is unbelievable."

This summer was the charity's busiest ever, and they don't show signs of slowing down soon.

"Not only do we have our fleet of helicopters operating in the North East and Cumbria, we have also expanded our service to cover 24 hours a day, four nights a week in the North East and two nights in Cumbria.

They "aim to go fully 24/7 in the years ahead", with the public's continued support.

The most recent fundraising event was organised by Janet Graham, who raised more than £2,000 for the charity during her year as the Lady Captain at Barnard Castle Golf Club.

Guy Opperman, MP for Hexham since 2010, said: "The GNAAS is vital to serving the emergency need of our communities."

"I am delighted by the generosity of Hexham residents. Since being elected in 2010, I have fought for our air ambulance services. This included a successful campaign in Parliament to exempt VAT on air ambulance fuel, saving the GNAAS thousands of pounds."

"With the devastating impact of Storm Arwen, it serves once again as a reminder that the air ambulance is a vital service that we should be proud of."

The GNAAS is "eternally grateful for the continued support, and it is without doubt that donations from the people of Hexham will have saved many lives and kept families together."

If you would like to make a donation to the charity, you can support them here: gna.as/give.