Member Article

Business goes Ape for Air Ambulance

Two North East internet entrepreneurs are braving a bone-shaking journey in a mini scooter van to raise money for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS). George Kinghorn and Colum Smith, owners of Durham-based Bayagent are taking part in the inaugural Scottish Coast 2 Coast scooter race in aid of the charity.

The Coast 2 Coast race runs from Largs on the West coast Via Stirling to Dunbar on the East, takes place on Saturday 21 July. While most of the competitors are enjoying the journey on conventional scooters, the Bayagent entry will be a Piaggio Ape moped truck – a two-stroke scooter engine mounted on a single chassis with a steel body housing the driver. The Ape (which is pronounced “a-pé”, and is Italian for “bee”) has a maximum speed of 30mph but uphill is reduced to a crawl of just 20mph.

Mr Kinghorn said: “We rescued the Ape after we spotted it in the grounds of one of our customers. It is the workhorse of the Vespa family and is a great little run-around. However, it could be a different kettle of fish taking it up and down some pretty gruelling Scottish mountains as part of this challenge.

“We’re expecting to be pretty stiff after over six hours at the handle bars and in need of a hot bath but it will all be worth it to raise funds for the Great North Air Ambulance. We are hoping that the North East business community will sponsor our trip. “It is such an important rescue service, particularly in a region like the North East and we wanted to do our bit to raise its profile and to secure sponsorship.”

Barbra Walton, Director of Support Services for GNAAS, said: “This vital service costs £1.2m per aircraft per year to operate. GNAAS receives no government funding and is therefore relying on people like George and Colum to generate funding and awareness.”

For more information on Bayagent, or to sponsor the pair, visit www.bayagent.co.uk. Anyone wanting to follow the progress of the charity bid can read a special blog set up at www.bayagentblog.co.uk. For more information on the Air Ambulance visit www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .