THE ROTARY Club’s first ever fun run event at Lydiard Park proved a roaring success, raising thousands of pounds for the WIltshire Air Ambulance.

On Sunday dozens turned out in the autumn sunshine to take part in the 5km and 10km distance routes around the park in aid of the charity.

The morning kicked off bright and early with runners registering from 9am, followed by a zumba warm up at 11am before the fundraisers set off along the routes.

Groups of friends and families with pushchairs and pooches all turned out to take part before enjoying a rewarding barbecue and other refreshments.

The event was organised by the Rotary Clubs of Royal Wootton Bassett Town, Royal Wootton Bassett & District and Swindon Phoenix, and there are plans to make it an annual event.

Tom Pepperall, who helped organise the event, said: “I think it went really well for the first time we’ve held the run.

“We had about 100 runners and we should have at least broken even.

“Fortunately the weather was quite good and I think it was enjoyed in the end by most.

“It is the first time we have held it and I think we’d probably like to make it an annual event, and we’ll probably do something next year. It’s a bit difficult to say exactly how much we raised because we are still counting it up and some is still coming in, and we’re still expecting some sponsorship money to come in too. But it should be in the region of at least £1,000.

“It will all go to our chosen charity, the Wiltshire Air Ambulance.”

The Rotary Club chose to hold the event in aid of the WAA because the charity has to raise more than £2.5m a year just to stay in the air.

Tom said: “It doesn’t get any funding from the government and it’something that does so much good.

“It really does save lives and it’s so important that we keep it in the air and that it manages to raise the money to keep doing the work it does.”

On average, the Wiltshire Air Ambulance attends two to three potentially life-saving missions a day, and can be anywhere in the county in just 11 minutes.

They are manned by highly trained, specialist paramedics who are qualified to deal with a number of different crises and nelps to save lives.

  • To find out more about the Rotary Club and how you can get involved visit www.ribi.org.