Kev meets one of the men who saved his life

Kev Hall was airlifted to hospital after the accident on May 10 last year, when he was crushed against a wall in the car park of Welland Valley Feeds/The Furniture Barn off Rockingham Road.

Now he has met one of the paramedics who saved him - Danny Evans - in a cheque presentation at East Midlands Airport.

Kev, his wife Sharon and his friends Angie and Semi, handed over a cheque for £2,000.

“Obviously the Air Ambulance service is just amazing - they save lives every week,” said Kev, who lives in Leicester, and works for Jane Stapleton School Photography.

“But what I didn’t realise is that it is wholly a charity. They don’t get any funding at all from the NHS or from anywhere.

“And the average call-out cost is £1,700. That’s why it’s so important to help this amazing charity.”

Kev, who used to live in Fleckney and went to school in Kibworth and Robert Smyth school, Market Harborough, had been visiting Market Harborough on a shopping trip, when the accident happened.

A car trapped him against the wall of the stores.

He ‘died’ three times on the operating table after being airlifted to University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire.

His leg injuries were so severe that he had his right leg amputated below the knee.

He has always said he owes his life to the emergency services.

“I’m still positive and trying to get going although obviously there have been a few setbacks,” he said.

But I’m getting there gradually - thanks to everyone’s help.”

Kev said he was working again and had managed to keep following his beloved Leicester City FC.

“I have to take my leg off to sit in my seat in the stadium, because there isn’t enough room for my prosthetic leg” he said.

“When Jamie Vardy got his record-breaking goal (scoring in 11 Premiership games in a row) I was so excited I forgot and jumped up!”

Kev said he was delighted with Leicester City’s amazing season so far, “but I’m not going to make any predictions, it’s bad luck!”

The donation was mainly raised by Angie and Semi in the Leicester Half Marathon.

Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland’s two Air Ambulances flew 116 missions last month.

It costs about £120,000 per month to keep the two aircraft operational, funded entirely by charitable donations.

Fundraising for the charity is an ongoing activity and campaigns are often inspired by people who’ve actually been rescued by an air ambulance.

You can contribute to the local Air Ambulance here: www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk/your-local-air-ambulance/