'Air ambulance saved me, now I want to give back'

A man who was left paralysed from the chest down after a crash is fundraising for the air ambulance charity that was "crucial" to his survival.

Dean Harris was commuting home on his motorbike when he was involved in the collision on the Eastern Primary in Telford in June 2025 - prompting the Midlands Air Ambulance to be dispatched to the scene.

Harris, from Telford, said he broke both shoulders and collarbones, eight ribs, his right wrist, three vertebrae in his spine and punctured a lung.

"I remember everything leading up to it, I even remember the impact... I go dark for a few minutes and then I remember looking at the sky on the Eastern Primary," he told the BBC.

"I was lying there waiting for the emergency services and I was like, 'I should be in more pain'… which led me to believe quite quickly that it was a spinal cord injury.

"I was struggling waiting for the land ambulance to arrive, they got there first and they were made immediately aware that an air ambulance had been dispatched."

Thanks to the personnel of the air ambulance charity, Harris arrived at the Royal Stoke Hospital within 15 minutes.

"I'm just so grateful to them," he added.

After the accident, Harris spent more than eight weeks in an intensive care unit and had emergency surgery on his back.

He then spent four months at the Midlands Centre for Spinal Injuries in Gobowen.

Harris, and his workplace, the Mercure Hotel in Telford, are hosting an event on Friday from 10:00 to 14:00 BST to raise funds for the charity, as a way to give back.

"We are hosting what we're calling the inflatable Olympics," he said.

It will see a giant inflatable obstacle course, as well as a DJ, caricaturist and competitions.

The charity's work is entirely funded by donations, and each mission costs £2,950 on average.

"We're raising money for a fantastic cause," Harris added.

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