Teenager thanks the air ambulance team who helped him

A teenager has thanked the medical team who flew to his aid when he was involved in a collision with a car.

Ben Haughton, from Hartest, near Bury St Edmunds, was riding his bicycle to run an errand on July 27 this year when, as he made his way down the hill, he collided with a Range Rover travelling in the opposite direction.

Within five minutes of the accident happening, the scene was a mass of emergency services, and the Magpas emergency medical charity Helimedix air ambulance was on its way.

Magpas doctor Simon Lewis and Magpas volunteer paramedic Adam Carr flew to Ben in the Helimedix air ambulance to provide him with the critical level of care he needed.

It turned out he had suffered a hairline fracture to his knee cap and a large wound to his knee.

As part of his 16th birthday celebrations on Saturday he went to the Magpas base at Wyton, Cambridgeshire, to meet the crew who helped him, and he also got to have a tour and enjoy some birthday cake.

Ben said: “I got to thank the crew. I have been wanting to do it. They have done a good job from what I have been told and what I can remember.”

He added: “It’s a great service, very much needed really. If it was serious it could have been much worse without them.”

His mother Ann, 49, said: “The care and consideration given to Ben, myself and my husband was amazing.”

She said the family could not thank the charity enough.

Ben, who underwent two operations following the accident, returned to school straight after the summer holidays and is also back on his bike.

Anyone wanting to support Magpas should visit www.magpas.org.uk