NEWTOWN-based company CellPath Ltd has donated £1,000 to the Welsh Air Ambulance Charitable Trust.

The company, which specialises in the manufacture and worldwide supply of consumables and equipment used in cancer diagnostics, and who were recently crowned Welsh Business of the Year at the South and Mid Wales Chamber of Commerce Awards, raised the money through the redistribution of their 2018 Christmas card budget alongside various employee fundraising initiatives.

Each year, the Wales Air Ambulance attends, on average, 2,500 missions, covering the length and breadth of Wales. The charity does not receive direct funding from the government or qualify for National Lottery funding, meaning their helicopters are only kept in the air mainly through charity donations and fundraising events.

CellPath handed over the £1,000 to Andrew Hall, Community Fundraising Manager for Mid Wales, who said: “The Welsh Air Ambulance brings A&E care directly to the patient, able to get to them anywhere in Wales within a 20-minute period. With each flight the Air Ambulance makes costing in the region of £1,500, we are only able to function due to the generosity of people and companies throughout Wales.

"CellPath’s kind donation will help us continue to provide life saving treatment, for which we are incredibly grateful.”

Philip Webber, CellPath’s joint managing director said: “It was fantastic for me and some of the team to visit one of the Welsh Air Ambulance’s bases to get a better feel for what the trust does and the beneficial impact they have on people’s lives.

"We are proud and privileged to have been able to be in a position to play a small part in their continuing operations, and hopefully see them evolve into night flying in the very near future.”