Man rescued from submerged car raises more than £7,000 for Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance
A man whose life was saved when he was rescued from a submerged car and taken to hospital by air ambulance crew has raised more than £7,000 to say thank you.
George Bellars was just eight years old when he was involved in a road traffic incident near his home in Spalding back in January, 2006.
The youngster was trapped in a submerged car, fighting for his life but the quick actions Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance crew gave him the best chance of survival.
George was travelling with his mum, Jo, when the car caught some loose chippings at the edge of the road and suddenly began to zig-zig from side to side.
Before they knew it, the car was heading down the bank as the car flipped and landed upside down, fully submerged in water.
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Jo managed to free herself from the vehicle and rushed to the passenger side of the wrecked car to rescue her son.
She managed to open the back passenger door and scramble inside.
With only a small pocket of air inside the submerged car, she knew time was against her.
It seemed like an eternity before she was able to release his seatbelt and pull George unconscious out of the back of the car and onto the bankside.
Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance crew arrived in record time and they quickly decided to airlift George straight to Pilgrim Hospital in Boston.
The flight took just seven minutes, something that could have really made a difference.
“I was in a bad way, and it was thought that I wouldn’t make it,” recalled George, who is now 25.
George will be forever grateful to Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance and, as he got older, began taking part in challenge events and selling raffle tickets, encouraging others to buy a ticket and support their life-saving work.
So far, George has raised £7236.75 which could buy enough fuel for our helicopter to fly to the scene of 15 emergencies and be by the side of more critically ill and injured patients.