A FARM shop and tea room has raised thousands of pounds for a blood bike charity which covers the North East.

Brocksbushes Farm Shop and Tea Room, a long-established farm shop for fresh and baked produce, announced it has raised a total of more than £7,800 for Northumbria Blood Bikes, which delivers vital medical supplies to hospitals across Northumberland, Newcastle and Durham. 

Brocksbushes chose the charity as its Charity of the Year for both 2022 and 2023.

Hexham Courant: (R) Janet Kidd of Brocksbushes with a Blood Bikes volunteer(R) Janet Kidd of Brocksbushes with a Blood Bikes volunteer (Image: Brocksbushes Farm Shop and Tea Room)

The Blood Bikes was established by local volunteers to deliver essential blood and urgent medical supplies, out of hours, between healthcare sites. 

A spokesperson for Brocksbushes Farm Shop said: "This amazing total has come from Northumbria Blood Bikes attending our events with their fundraising stalls, tombolas, giving your loose change at our tills, plus the donation from the entry fees to our Christmas Fayre.

"We couldn’t do this without you, our loyal customers, who have supported the Northumbria Blood Bikes team in so many ways. Thank you.

"In 2023 alone Northumbria Blood Bikes completed over 12,400 jobs for the NHS and Air Ambulance in our region, helping save lives every day. This could not have happened without your support," they added.

Trustee and publicity officer for Northumbria Blood Bikes, Kirsty Lawrence, said: "We are extremely grateful to the team at Brockbushes Farm Shop and Tea Room for choosing to have us as their chosen charity for the last two years. The money raised is vital to keeping our charity on the road helping the NHS through our work.

"For every £100 raised it enables us to complete approximately 40 jobs so the incredible £7,813.57 raised with them will help us improve the healthcare journeys of over 3,000 people in the North East of England.

"Not only is the money raised really important, but being able to promote who we are has brought new volunteers to our team.

"We want to say we are truly thankful to all the team at Brockbushes and their customers for their support and donations.

"You never know when we might have the ride of your life."