A TEAM of dedicated motorcyclists and volunteers who provide a pivotal service to the NHS and hospices will be helping to save lives throughout the festive season.

North West Blood Bikes, who have 150 riders on their volunteer list, deliver an out-of-hours service to the NHS all over Lancashire.

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The service is particularly active in East Lancashire, with almost half the runs between the hospitals in Blackburn and Burnley.

Matt Phillipson, from Darwen, is the controller manager. At just 19, he is the youngest member of the group and was inspired to join the group by his mother, Wendy Penkethman, who also acts as a volunteer controller.

He said: “We run overnight and weekends. On Christmas Day we will have a number of riders on the rota, ready to go if needed by a patient somewhere in Lancashire.

Our busiest area is by far between the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General but we also deliver to both East Lancs and Pendleside hospices and Accrington Victoria renal unit. Of the 316 runs we’ve done so far in December, 130 have been between Burnley and Blackburn hospitals. We have been running for 32 months and, as of today, have completed 9,446 deliveries.

“We deliver anything that can fit on the back of a motorbike: whole blood, blood products, samples, medication and medical notes.

“We operate a fleet of marked bikes, with a number of riders being trained to use the blue lights and sirens.

“These are used in response to a clinical emergency.

“Our aims are to help save the NHS money and help the patients who need us. Before we were set up the NHS would often use private hire taxis for this task so obviously it cuts out a lot of costs.

“I’ve had riders saying they’ve been greeted by the crying parents of a sick baby whose doctors need a blood sample transported quickly. That’s the magnitude of the work we are confronted with.”

Matt added: “As a charity we have three main issues: recruitment, fundraising and public knowledge.

Those wishing to support North West Blood Bikes (Lancs & Lakes) can donate at www.nwbb-lancs.org.