MEMBERS of the Melksham Ukulele Social Club have raised £250 towards the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Airbase Appeal from musical performances around the local area.

Members Peter Brooke, Aksana Coxhead and Brendan Cassidy presented a cheque to paramedic Keith Mills of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance on Tuesday, 27 June and played for the fundraising team before touring the base.

Members of the 20-strong group raised the funds by performing at local music gigs in and around the Melksham area, including fetes, festivals and Women’s Institute meetings.

MUSC decided to raise funds towards the Airbase Appeal as it is a Melksham project and is located just up the road from where Brendan lives.

Aksana, the Club’s secretary, said: “The new Airbase is just up the road from Brendan and because it’s now part of Melksham we feel that it has links to us. We had chosen the Airbase Appeal as our fundraising charity for the year, so we had a look around the airbase and all our questions were answered.”

Cas Loudon, Donor Relationship Coordinator at Wiltshire Air Ambulance, said: “It was an absolute pleasure to meet with members of the Melksham Ukulele Social Club and it was wonderful listening to them play.

“They play music at lots of various events and we are grateful to them for choosing our Airbase Appeal. The funds raised by the Club will help us to complete the building and equipping of our new airbase at Semington, near Melksham.

“Construction work is underway on the new airbase and we still need to raise just over £900,000 before our helicopter, aircrew and charity team move in next year. It will make such a difference, also to us as a team, and enable us to connect more closely and directly with our supporters.”

The current airbase is located within the grounds of the Wiltshire Police headquarters and people entering have to navigate the police security before they get to the Air Ambulance operations centre and hangar.

The group is a friendly group of ukulele enthusiasts which was formed four years ago in has been successfully performing at regional and local events. They support local charities by raising awareness and funds during their gigs.

In the past, these have included the Seend Fete, Melksham WI, a Christmas party at Lacock Abbey, the American Twinning Association in Calne, and, together with a local harmonica group, occasional gigs at the Foresters Arms in Melksham.

The club meets every Thursday from 7.30pm at the Girl Guides Club premises at King George V Park behind Waitrose. New members of all abilities are welcome, although MUSC is not a teaching club and some extra tuition is recommended for absolute beginners.

Thanks to one generous supporter. Wiltshire Air Ambulance has already raised more than £2.5 million to build and equip its custom-built operations centre, hangar and airbase at Outmarsh Farm at Semington.

You can make a donation online via a special Airbase Appeal website www.wiltshireairbaseappeal.co.uk and it will process your Gift Aid too.

Alternatively, you can donate by telephone. Just call Wiltshire Air Ambulance Charity Team on 01380 739453 and your donation will be processed over the phone. Just let them know your donation is for the Airbase Appeal.