Emergency courier charity opens doors to public

A Devon charity hosted an inaugural open day event on Saturday 28 September at its headquarters in Honiton, giving visitors an opportunity to learn more about its life-saving work.

Devon Freewheelers, which provides an emergency out-of-hours courier service, invited locals to meet the volunteer bikers and take a look at the motorbikes that are central to the charity’s efforts.  

The service, which transports vital supplies including blood, tissues, organs and breast milk to NHS hospitals across the county at no cost to the NHS, was set up by Daniel Lavery after his wife and baby were saved by a similar organisation in Belfast.

Dan said: “It was fantastic to welcome so many visitors to our HQ on the Heathpark Trading Estate. We’ve been running for four years and although our profile is growing, there are still quite a few people who don’t know exactly what we do.”

The open day also presented an opportunity for potential volunteer riders to talk to those currently manning the service, and a number now look set to join the team.

Although it wasn’t a fundraising event, Dan hopes that the open day has encouraged more people to get involved.

“Devon Freewheelers is run on a totally voluntary basis. We receive no funding at all, so we rely totally on donations. There are people fundraising for us all the time in Devon and beyond, and we are very grateful for all their hard work,” he explained. 

“Next year we are helping to organise a very special fundraiser - the Honiton Sausage and Cider Festival, which is being held on Saturday May 3. We would love to see as many people as possible come along and support us by having a great day out!”

With headliners the Wurzels now confirmed, tickets for the event go on sale at the end of October. For more information visit www.honitonfestival.org and to find out more about Devon Freewheelers, www.bloodbikes.org