Horsforth Golf Club fundraiser raised more than £5,000 for charity close to captains' hearts

Horsforth Golf Club joint captains Paul and Carole Edmondson staged fundraising events which raised more than £5,000 for a charity very close to their hearts.

The couple organised a charity weekend to raise cash for Lucy Air Ambulance for Children.

It was a thank you to the charity which flew their baby grandson from Plymouth Hospital to St James's in Leeds after he was born 10 weeks prematurely while his parents were on holiday in Devon.

A fashion show raised £560 and a family fun day sponsored by CBRE and Nuffield Health raised £5,095.

Amy Barrett and husband James, of Rawdon, were on holiday 300 miles from home in March 2019 when their son Charlie was born by emergency C section at Plymouth Hospital.

Charlie weighed just 3lb when he was born and needed help breathing and a blood transfusion.

He was in intensive care at Plymouth Hospital for 10 days before doctors deemed him well enough to travel home via air ambulance.

Charlie and his mum Amy were flown back to Leeds in the fixed-wing twin-engined aeroplane by the Lucy Air Ambulance for Children.

He spent five more weeks at St James’s Hospital in Leeds.

Charlie is now a fit and healthy two-and-a-half-year-old and his family is raising cash to support the charity as each flight costs around £8,000.

Amy’s parents, Paul and Carole Edmondson, are men’s and lady captains at Horsforth Golf Club, and they have chosen the Lucy Air Ambulance for Children as their chosen charity during their time as captains.

Leeds has become an important hub for the charity, with many children being flown long distances to and from hospitals throughout the UK.

A Lucy Air Ambulance for Children spokesperson, said: "Special thanks go to Paul and Carole Edmondson, James and Amy Barrett, the ladies from the golf club who kindly volunteered on both Friday and Saturday and Caroline from Moo Music who kept the youngsters entertained throughout the day."

For more information on the charity, go to www.lucyaac.org.uk.