Air ambulance charity given £15k legacy in will

Jeremy Connell's, widow, Anna (centre), visited the DSAA team at their Henstridge airbase in March

The widow of a man who left £15,000 to an air ambulance charity in his will has said there was "no way we would do anything else".

Jeremy Connell, from Somerset, volunteered for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) during his retirement, counting money from collection boxes across Exmoor.

His widow, Anna, herself a volunteer for 15 years, visited the team at their Henstridge airbase in March to hand over the gift.

"Volunteering for the air ambulance was something special that we could do together," she said.

Mr and Mrs Connell collected the charity boxes from isolated villages scattered across the moor.

"We'd do three or four different drops and try and end up at a pub somewhere, collect their boxes and have a drink," she told BBC Radio Somerset.

"We built up a great rapport with most of the shops and pubs. It got to a stage where, even if we weren't wearing uniform, people recognised us.

"I have so many happy memories and Jeremy loved it."

Mr and Mrs Connell helped raise more than £30,000 for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance

Together the couple has helped raise more than £30,000 and in doing so, also increased awareness of the charity's work in such a remote area of Somerset.

"It wasn't until Jeremy retired that he really learnt how to count," Mrs Connell said.

"As you can imagine there was an awful lot of pennies in the boxes and many of those little 5ps too.

"Jeremy would count those up and stack them high, before they fell over, every time."

When Mrs Connell visited DSAA, she met the very same person who had interviewed her at her kitchen table 15 years previously, to see if she was suitable to be a volunteer.

"It was a wonderful day," she said.

"It was written in stone when we got married in 2009 that we would leave money to the air ambulance. There was no way we would do anything else."

'A wonderful man'

Tracy Bartram, from the DSAA, said: "Thank you never seems enough when we receive legacy gifts such as this from Jeremy.

"He was a wonderful man and we are extremely grateful for this special gift.

"Anna remains close to our hearts and her ongoing support is both wonderful and kind."