STAFF at a Suffolk high school have raised more than �1,600 for the East Anglian Air Ambulance after the charity was chosen by the family of the late student Lily Webster.

Seventeen stoic members of staff from Stowmarket High School cycled 40 miles in the middle of the night from the town to Dunwich earlier this month.

The group were raising money for the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) after an on-board medical team tried to save 15-year-old Lily after she collapsed during a trampoline lesson at the school in January.

Biology teacher Helen Harridge said: “I think it’s important that we, as a community, keep this service because they’re not Government funded.

“It’s important for people to understand that the school is taking part in things like this and supporting the local community.

“While we could not save Lily, if something like that happens they can get here and cut the number of tragedies that happen because people are waiting for land services to arrive.”

The cyclists had a coffee stop at Earl Soham and had a cooked breakfast made for them at the finish line in Dunwich.

“It was good fun, there was a good atmosphere. People arrived in five-and-a-half hours to seven hours. I came right at the end, there was one person behind me,” said Mrs Harridge.

Head of Year 11 Paul Walker organised the ride and said the staff wanted to hit their target of �2,500.

So far they have raised �1,280 through their JustGiving webpage and �400 in sponsorship forms. To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/teams/shsstaffsolstice. A separate JustGiving page, set up in memory of Lily, has so far raised nearly �1,300 for the EAAA and Cardiac Risk in the Young.