Batley biker fundraises for air ambulance service that saved his life

Keiron Gavaghan suffered 14 broken bones and a collapsed lung

A biker who was airlifted to hospital after a life-threatening accident is to run a half-marathon to raise money for the air ambulance which rescued him.

Keiron Gavaghan, 40, suffered 14 broken bones when he jumped off his burning motorcycle as it hurtled towards a tree in North Yorkshire.

He was flown to hospital by the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).

The father-of-two, from Batley in West Yorkshire, will tackle the Great North Run to raise funds for the charity.

Mr Gavaghan was riding near Ripon in July 2013 when his bike suffered a catastrophic engine failure, spraying oil onto the rear wheel and hot exhaust pipe which then ignited.

He left the road in a bid to stop, but jumped from his bike after realising he was careering towards a wire fence and an oak tree.

He said: "I landed heavily on my hands and head and I was a right mess.

"Unfortunately, some of the bones went right through my lungs and when I stood up quickly, I realised I couldn't breathe and keeled over."

Keiron Gavaghan with daughters Niamh and Orlaith

Mr Gavaghan, who also suffered a punctured and collapsed lung with internal bleeding, was flown by air ambulance to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, where medics inserted two chest drains and treated him in intensive care.

He said: "The timeframe of getting me to hospital was essential, otherwise it could have been a fatality.

"It took three years of physio and surgery to get better and it was touch and go at the start whether they could save my arm."

Mr Gavaghan and 12 friends cycled from Leeds to London in 2018 to raise £14,000 for GNAAS as well as Yorkshire Air Ambulance, whose crew rescued his friend following another motorbike crash near Ingleton in North Yorkshire.

He said he now wanted to use September's Great North Run, which starts in Newcastle, to raise further funds for the "vital service" GNAAS offered.

"The reality is, were it not for GNAAS I wouldn't be sharing my story today," he added.

The charity, based at Eaglescliffe in Stockton, expanded its paramedic services earlier this year to provide 24/7 coverage.