A MUM-of-two was left fighting for her life - just weeks after she raised money for her rescuers at the Great North Air Ambulance Service.

Samantha Sugden swam the length of Ullswater in September to thank medics who airlifted her to hospital when she hit a sinkhole and was thrown from her bike, while on a ride with friends near Keswick in August 2017.

But just three weeks after her swim, which raised £1,000 for the charity, the 38-year-old needed the flying medics' care again when she collided with a bus on the Kirkstone Pass, near Ambleside.

After being assessed and treated by the GNAAS paramedic and doctor team, she was flown to the Cumberland Infirmary, where she spent a week recovering.

“I knew I’d broken my collar bone but I thought I was alright. I didn’t realise I’d totally annihilated my spleen and I ended up having life-saving surgery to remove it. I was in a bad way but I am really lucky to still be here," said Samantha, of Penrith.

“GNAAS saved my life and I’m very grateful for their help. My mum, dad, and kids are also very grateful.

“I don’t know if I’ll ride again and my daughters have asked me not to. I’ll probably get back on a bike at some point, but I don’t know whether I’ll race again.”

She has taken on triathlons since 2012 and returned to the sport last year following a six-month recovery from the first incident, which left her with brain and skull injuries, fractured ribs, a lacerated spleen and an arterial bleed.

She completed her gruelling swim, from Glenridding to Pooley Bridge, in four and a half hours.

Samantha's call out last year was one of 371 received by the service in Cumbria, of which 140 of those were road traffic collisions and 72 were as a result of falls. In 2017 the Pride of Cumbria was called out 396 times across the county.

Over the past three financial years the service, which costs £5.1m a year to run, has seen a slight increase in activity across our its whole area. In Cumbria there has been a slight decline, though it is still called more than once a day on average.

An arrangement with the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) now ensures air medics can monitor 999 calls in the region, meaning it is more informed and precious time is not lost. GNAAS chief executive Grahame Pickering said this has improved the way the air ambulance was being used.

"The charity remains as busy as ever and can respond only because of the support of the public," he said.

"We have worked with the NWAS and other partners to make sure our service is preserved for those who need it most, the most seriously ill and injured. As well as improvements to the way we are deployed, clinical advancements on our aircraft have led to a number of unexpected survivors over the past four years.

"These are people that without our care would not have been expected to live. To anyone who has ever donated or is thinking of contributing, I can think of no greater justification than pointing to these cases and saying ‘your money saves lives'. We’d like to thank all our supporters for making this possible."