A KIND-hearted Wales Air Ambulance patient has generously donated £3,000 of raffle prize-winnings back to the charity that helped save her life.

Beverley Lewis won the first-place prize in the Wales Air Ambulance summer raffle and rather than keep her winnings, she donated it back to the lifesaving charity.

Beverley, who is from south west London, had been travelling to Criccieth, Gwynedd on holiday with her friends on September 3, 2022, when she was involved in a crash in Bala.

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The Wales Air Ambulance team arrived swiftly to the scene and provided advanced critical care that proved instrumental in stabilising Beverley.

She was then airlifted her to the major trauma centre at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, where she spent nine days and underwent surgery.

Beverley, a 65-year-old retired solicitor, had decided to keep in touch with the charity following her accident.

She entered the raffle after receiving an email from the charity as a way of expressing her gratitude to the Wales Air Ambulance.

In fact, her winning ticket was one of the first tickets bought. 

Beverley said: “I am not in the habit of winning competitions or raffles.

“I initially considered sending a cheque donation but then I thought, if I did win, I could give the prize back to the Wales Air Ambulance, so I bought £20 worth of tickets.

“I was extremely surprised to receive the phone call from the charity explaining that I had won first prize.

“The charity must raise a lot of money for the service to remain operational, and what an important service it is for people. 

“I was a beneficiary of the Wales Air Ambulance’s good work last September when I was involved in a road traffic collision, and I will forever be grateful to the charity.

“I am grateful for their care, their time and the crew’s humour. I remember the crew, Kate, Olly and Paul, being really reassuring, extremely efficient and very kind.  

“I can’t fault the work of the Wales Air Ambulance and I am extremely glad that I can give the money back to such a worthy cause.”

The charity needs to raise £11.2million every year to keep its four helicopters in the air and fleet of rapid response vehicles on the road.

Its raffle was drawn blindly on August 8 by another past patient, Richard Jones.

Phae Jones, Wales Air Ambulance’s senior individual giving and legacy manager, said: “We are thrilled with the success of the charity’s summer raffle.

“And (we) are very grateful to all of our staff and volunteers who got involved in spreading the word and engaging with our local communities in buying and selling raffle tickets.

“To hear the story of our top prize winner’s first-hand experience of our lifesaving service and her decision to donate back her winnings is incredibly humbling. Thank you very much.”