REGULARS at Cinderford’s Upper Bilson Inn have raised more than £2,800 for the Great Western Air Ambulance charity.

The cash was accumulated over a year of holding meat raffles on Sunday lunchtimes.

Pub landlady Carol Redcliffe said: “We always support the air ambulance because they saved my son James’s life three-and-a-half years ago when he had a very bad motorbike accident in the woods.

“He is very lucky to be alive,” she said.

Martin Firman from the Great Western Air Ambulance charity said: "The sum of £2,850 is a great achievement to have raised at the Bilson Inn.

"This is just the latest donation the pub has presented to the air ambulance since the family experienced their own personal tragedy that required the use of our services.

"The charity operates a helicopter and two rapid response vehicles, which equates to some £2 million a year in running costs.

"The air ambulance is more than that - it’s a mobile operating theatre, as we carry the equipment if necessary to perform open heart surgery at the scene of an accident as a surgeon is now included as part of our team.

"On average it costs £2,000 per mission and the donations the Bilson Inn have made of the years means that they will have contributed to saving the lives of a number of people."