An impressive £11,500 has been raised for the Great North Air Ambulance Service thanks to the Waberthwaite Ale Tasters Society.

Over the past six years the group, which has 80 members, has held a number of fundraising events.

It meets once a week in the Brown Cow Inn, Waberthwaite.

At its recent AGM, Copeland MP Trudy Harrison - a member of the group – presented a cheque for reaching £10,000, which was then further added to thanks to the proceeds of the AGM.

Ron Godfrey, a member of the group and also a volunteer with the Great North Air Ambulance Service, said: “I am amazed at how successful the group has been. We do two quizzes a month, have a stall at Bootle’s country fair each year and also have social nights. The Great North Air Ambulance Service is a very vital service as we are two hours away from a major trauma unit.”

Mrs Harrison added: “It’s a huge amount of money for a local group to raise and an extremely worthy cause to support which has helped save lives locally and across the north. I was very proud to be invited to present the cheque and hand over a further £1,500 which had been raised and will be used to continue to help save lives.

“Waberthwaite Ale Tasters have such fun, and encourage membership by bringing people together to enjoy themselves, often with a competitive edge. The homemade burger competition was a great example, which I was asked to judge!”