Bruce Evans, second from right, of the Great North Air Ambulance, receives a cheque from Nick Holmes and Caroline Nichol of the Wainwright Society, and its chairman Eric Robson, right. Photo: David Johnson

The Wainwright Society has handed over more than £10,000 to the Great North Air Ambulance charity.

The group, which promotes the values of the late guidebook author and illustrator Alfred Wainwright, raised the cash from sales of its calendar and from its annual challenge event.

The aircraft of the Great North Air Ambulance regularly go to the aid of hillwalkers and other outdoor enthusiasts in the Lake District and the North of England.

The money, £9,320 from calendar sales and the balance of the £10,800 total from challenge donations, was handed over at the society’s annual meeting.

The donation will pay for three next-generation ultrasound machines to help diagnose cardiac arrests and heart attacks, one for each helicopter in the fleet.

Grahame Pickering, Great North Air Ambulance Service chief executive, said: “With the support of the Wainwright Society and its members, our service just got that bit more comprehensive.

“We’d like to thank everyone who supported this fundraising endeavour not just on behalf of the charity but also those patients who will need this vital piece of kit in the future.”

The society’s 2020 Calendar will go on sale later this year. The profits will be donated to the Blencathra Centre, its main beneficiary for 2019.