Wales Air Ambulance has received a £1000 donation thanks to the UK’s largest distributor of fuel and lubricants, Certas Energy, and their loyal West Wales customers.

Certas Energy holds the licence for the Gulf brand in the UK. Thanks to customers of the Gulf Square and Compass filling station in Haverfordwest, the lifesaving service was one of ten UK charities to receive a donation, recently.

Users of the filling station who sign up to the Gulf Oomph Fuel Rewards initiative can collect points every time they spend money on products or services.

They can redeem their points by either entering prize draws or by donating them to their local garage. Any points donated to the garage are entered into a draw to win £1,000 for their nominated Charity.

Jessica Lilley, Certas Energy Marketing Executive, said: “We are so proud that our award-winning loyalty platform, Oomph, continues to support charities around the UK when they desperately need it after such a difficult year.

“We have so far given out over £30,000 and are very proud of all charities we can support including Wales Air Ambulance.

“Their local site in square and compass wanted to support a very positive, lifesaving charity and will continue to do so through the scheme, to hopefully win even more money for the Charity.

“Our customers and the wider community have seen at first hand that Oomph offers much more than other forecourt loyalty schemes.”

Katie Macro, the Charity’s South West Wales Community Fundraiser, said: “We are very grateful for this donation. It was only possible thanks to the incredibly generous customers of the Square and Compass filling station, who donated their reward points, and the station team who chose Wales Air Ambulance as their nominated charity.

“We regularly attended life and limb-threatening emergencies in Pembrokeshire. Donations like this are vital and we know how important our service is, particularly for rural areas.

“By keeping our helicopters in the air we can continue to take the emergency department to the patient, saving time and saving lives.”

Wales Air Ambulance offers advanced critical care and is often described as a ‘Flying ED’.

The on-board consultants and critical care practitioners are highly skilled and carry some of the most pioneering medical equipment in the world. They can deliver blood transfusions, administer anaesthesia and undertake emergency operations at the scene of the incident, before flying the patient directly to specialist care.

Wales Air Ambulance has four aircraft based across Wales, in Dafen, Caernarfon, Welshpool and Cardiff.

Now operational 24/7, the Charity needs to raise £8 million every year to keep the helicopters flying.

There are several ways that the public can continue to support the Wales Air Ambulance.

These include online donations, signing up to the Charity’s Lifesaving Lottery or by coming up with their own innovative ways to fundraise at home. Further information can be found via www.walesairambulance.com. 

Alternatively, a £5 text-message donation can be made by texting the word HELI to 70711.