'I'm grateful they made it possible for my dad to walk me down the aisle'

THE daughter of the first man to receive a blood transfusion outside of hospital in the North of England is running a marathon to thank the lifesaving Great North Air Ambulance Service.

- SAM VOLPE Health reporter

John McNeil walking his daughter Jill Dempster down the aisle on her wedding day

Jill Dempster said that without the air ambulance helicopter team’s support, her dad - then 58 - would not have lived to walk her down the aisle at her wedding.

In January 2015, her dad, John McNeil, had been involved in a horrific collision on the Al at Berwick which saw his work van collide with an oncoming lorry.

He suffered fractures to his collarbone, hip, both legs, chest and back - along with collapsed lungs and scalp lacerations.