LAW firm Dickinson Dees has completed a year of fundraising for its chosen charity of the year, the Great North Air Ambulance Service.

Representatives from the firm presented a cheque for £31,807 to the charity at last month’s Glittering Ocean Ball in Newcastle.

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) operates a fleet of helicopters that react to emergency situations across an area of 8,000sq miles, from the Scottish Borders to North Yorkshire, from east coast to west. The charity transports time-critical injured or ill patients to specialist hospitals.

Staff from across the law firm’s five offices have spent the past year raising money for GNAAS through a variety of different events.

These have included everything from Las Vegas-style balls, the Great North Run and taking part in a sky dive, to a jail break where senior members of the firm were arrested and had to raise enough “bail” for release.

Craig Monty, head of corporate and social responsibility at Dickinson Dees, said: “We’re immensely proud to be able to present GNAAS with this cheque

“Our staff have really embraced the cause and in some cases have overcome some personal challenges in order to complete their fundraising activity.”

Mandy Drake, head of fundraising at GNAAS, said: “When Dickinson Dees announced that we would be their charity of the year last year, we were obviously delighted. The firm has worked extremely hard over the last 12 months to raise money for GNAAS, which needs over £4m a year to be able to continue.

“Each mission flown by our helicopters costs £2,500, regardless of whether or not the patient is airlifted. This, coupled with the cost of the aircraft, its storage and fuel, paying the pilots and the paramedics, the medicine, and other equipment, all adds up.

“The money raised by Dickinson Dees will pay for over 12 missions and will make a huge difference to the charity and the people we serve. We’d like to thank all the staff at Dickinson Dees for their hard work and commitment.”

Dickinson Dees has announced its new charity of the year as the NSPCC. The firm will be raising money over the course of the next 12 months to help the charity make a difference to the lives of children in the UK.