WHEN Lee Stokes was seriously injured in a motorbike accident it was the County Air Ambulance that lifted him to safety.

Now he has presented the charity with almost £3,000 as a thank-you.

Lee, of Crownlea Avenue, Barnards Green, came off his bike at Longdon in May last year, while riding to work at Dave Parry Motorcycles in Cheltenham.

The 32-year-old broke both knees and wrists, knocked out his front teeth and suffered massive head injuries.

He was airlifted to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, where he spent three weeks in intensive care.

His parents, Shirley and Ron, flew back from their home in Spain to be with him.

During that time, Shirley decided to ask people to give donations to the air ambulance instead of cards.

"In critical care, cards are just a nuisance, so we got a visitors' book and asked everyone to write their message and donate a few pounds," she said. "We thought we'd just raise about £100."

But the cash kept coming in and family and friends also undertook sponsored challenges, boosting the total further.

On Wednesday (May 18), Lee presented £2,800 to the air ambulance at its Strensham base.

Shirley said: "It's just a thank-you, but perhaps it will pay for the next person,

"If it hadn't been for the air ambulance Lee wouldn't be with us today."

Lee receives weekly physiotherapy and hydrotherapy and is learning to walk again with the aid of a metal frame.

He said the accident had not put him off biking, something he has done since he was 14.

"I can't wait to get back on my next one," he said. "I just want to get back to work and back to being normal again."