A Devon farmer has marked the 20th anniversary of his rescue by air ambulance by giving the charity a donation from the sale of his tractor.

Alex Tapp of Awliscombe, near Honiton, needed the Devon Air Ambulance (DAA) when bales fell on top of him.

He said: "20 years ago this December I had an accident whilst working on a dairy farm near Cullompton.

"I was 16 years old at the time when a large stack of straw bales toppled over, falling on me, which resulted in me breaking my femur, requiring surgery for a metal rod to be fitted, and also damaging my shoulder.

"Fortunately, Devon Air Ambulance came to the rescue and airlifted me to hospital. I am forever grateful for the service they provided that day."

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With lockdown, he realised that a typical fundraising event would not be possible.

He said: "So, instead, I decided I would donate £1,000 from the sale of my next tractor to DAA.

"Local farmer, Martin Greenslade, from Cullompton, came to view our CASE IH CX90 and upon discussing price I stated my intention to donate to DAA."

The farmers then discovered that they had both been rescued by air ambulance.

"I couldn’t believe it when he said that he, too, had been airlifted by DAA.

"His accident was six years ago – again, due to a farming accident, in which he fell from a stack of bales.

"Not surprisingly, we were both delighted to know that DAA would benefit from the donation - this way, everyone’s a winner.”