School swim nets £12,000

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Photo: Jamie Broadhurst and fellow Latymer Prep School pupils with Surrey Air Ambulance crew members, pilot Matt Tacon, paramedic Adam Heywood (left) and Dr Roger Alcock (right).

A school has raised enough money for the Surrey Air Ambulance crew to help them save almost eight lives.

Pupils at Latymer Prep School raised £11,500 for the life-saving helicopter by staging a sponsored swimathon.

All 160 pupils completed as many laps of the Hammersmith school’s 25m pool as they could in just 20 minutes.

The Surrey Air Ambulance needs £1.7m-a-year to keep flying and each mission costs between £1,500 and £2,000 so the sum raised by the youngsters has effectively helped save eight lives.

Children from the school visited the Surrey Air Ambulance at its Dunsfold base to hand over their cheque to pilot Matt Tacon, Dr Roger Alcock and paramedic Adam Heywood.

One of the pupils pictured with the helicopter taking off in the background is Jamie Broadhurst, 10, whose father Chris tragically died in a bike accident in Leatherhead last summer.

It took the helicopter just nine minutes to reach Chris but his condition was so serious that unfortunately medics were unable to save him and he died at the scene.

Chris’s family have raised thousands for the charity through various fundraising events including the Brighton Marathon.

Widow Anne said: “It’s given us all something to work towards to get us through this terrible time.

“When you go through this you are desperate for some kind of answer and you do the most extraordinary things.

“We have found we have more energy to put into a charity we feel will help others.”