Tiverton-based Blakes Coaches has raised £7,000 for a local charity, the Devon Air Ambulance.
The North Devon family-run operator provides a day trip every year for around 250 people to a hotel in Dawlish near Exeter.
There they enjoy a three-course Christmas lunch and entertainment which is provided by the drivers who dress up and perform a sketch. In addition to the day trip, money is raised in November and December through the operator’s Turkey and Tinsel tours where teddy bears are raffled off to passengers.
The money raised goes to one of five local charities each year: Children’s Hospice South West, Marie Curie, Somerset Hospice, North Devon Hospice and Devon Air Ambulance, which was this year’s charity. Blakes Coaches has been doing this fundraising for 13 years now and has raised £64,000 during that time.
Hannah Blake, Accounts Manager at Blakes Coaches, said: “I’m so unbelievably proud of everyone at Blakes Coaches for raising a massive £7,000 for the Devon Air Ambulance. A big thank you to the 225 customers that joined us for a day of laughter, entertainment and amazing food in Dawlish, along with our lovely drivers.”
