A Blood Bikes rider from Wigton has shared his story of why he decided to give a helping hand to the health services.

David Broughton, 55, explained that his daughter has been working as a nurse and his wife has also volunteered.

To support their work he and his son have been volunteering for the Blood Bikes service to show their commitment to the NHS.

Mr Broughton said: "My wife Cath, my son Michael and myself are proud as punch of my daughter Rebecca, who has been working as a Nurse since she was 21. This combined with us wanting to give something back to the NHS led my wife, who's done her fair share of volunteering, to challenge my son and I to volunteer.

"I vividly remember seeing that Blood Biker had been killed on the local news whilst he was out on a job. My son and I were very moved by this and decided that my wife was right and that we ought to volunteer. So off Michael went and signed up as a first responder and I was wondering what I could do.

"Our family donate blood regularly especially because we have a rare blood type and I remember seeing adverts and news about Blood Bikes and wondered if volunteering would be for me."

"I was concerned that I couldn't ride anymore due to having surgery on my back, however I noticed that there were a lot of cars on their Facebook posts and decided to look into it.

"Now here I am, I've completed my first few shifts, including a night shift on call and one of our daily runs to support the Great North Air Ambulance. I'm honoured to volunteer for such a great cause and proud to part of the team."

Blood Bikes Cumbria are always on the lookout for volunteers to help with their service and riders are expected to conduct one duty per calender month.

If you would like to become involved with Blood Bikes Cumbria please visit the following link: https://bloodbikescumbria.org.uk/join/?fbclid=IwAR2ErruP6vB-juJRDIS-6SvkOPclq422_oUHQ_Z6ANZJLZOET4LNxwSadDs.