A Cumbria Blood Bikes volunteer has bravely bared all in the name of charity.

Father-of-two Martin Pullan stripped down to his birthday suit to become the face of September for a fundraising calendar put together by The Ambulance Staff Charity (TASC).

The Wigton man is part of a team of volunteers - partly made up of ambulance paramedics and technicians - who chose to take off their uniforms and reveal the people behind the job.

The 50-year-old said he had no reservations about volunteering to appear in the calendar, with the help of a well-placed piece of medical equipment.

Mike, who is a volunteer driver and controller for Cumbria Blood Bikes, said: "If you take away the ambulance, the blue lights and the uniform you reveal a human being like anyone else.

"This is all about getting people to respect the ambulance service and the people who work for it."

He also works as an emergency care assistant with Medicnow, a recruitment agency specialising in providing ambulance crew to the NHS and private organisations.

It was Medicnow that came up with the idea of creating a calendar.

Kirsty Elton, the organisation's business development manager, said: "We wanted people to remember that our ambulance crew are people - someone’s father, mother, son or daughter.

"The idea behind doing the calendar was to literally strip away the uniform and the ambulance and show these guys for the caring and hard-working people they are.

"They do an amazing job, work long hours and save lives, and they deserve our respect and support.

"As we’re sure you can imagine, we had a lot of fun making this calendar but we hope that it will help raise awareness of the people who are there to help when we need it most."

A spokesman for TASC added: "We are delighted to have been chosen to receive proceeds from this ambulance calendar and would like to say a huge thank you to Medicnow for their support.

"Although the calendar is light-hearted, it has been tastefully done and also conveys a very serious message about supporting and raising awareness of the vital work that our ambulance personnel provide every single day."

Copies of the calendar are priced at £8 each, plus £2 delivery.

They can be bought from TASC by visiting www.theasc.org.uk or alternatively by calling 02477 987 922.