EMERGENCY volunteer bikers who provide a lifeline service for NHS patients have received a £7,000 donation.

East Lancs Hospitals NHS Trust donated the cash to the North West Blood Bikes.

It means a team of emergency volunteer bikers will be kept on the road for a further 12 months with the cash used on equipment, maintenance and petrol.

Pathology manager Jeff Cottam said: "North West Blood Bike volunteers provide a fantastic service to the hospitals and NHS patients of East Lancashire, no matter what unsociable time we call them or whatever the weather.

"The trust has benefitted from the biker’s work for several years now and making this donation helps to keep North West Blood Bikes on the road and represents a substantial saving on what it would cost the NHS if we contracted a private transport service to provide the same service."

Paul Brooks, North West Blood Bikes chairman, said: "Our thanks to everyone at East Lancashire Hospitals for this very welcome donation and it was great to meet the lab staff and learn so much about what happens to the samples we transport.

"At no cost, we transport blood and other products between hospitals and other medical facilities. Everyone at North West Blood Bikes is a volunteer.

"We all want to put something back into the NHS and blood biking is our way of making that commitment."

As well as transporting emergency blood supplies around East Lancashire during evenings and at weekends, the volunteers at North West Blood Bikes also deliver X-rays results, breast milk and samples for laboratory testing across Lancashire and as far North as the Lake District.