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THE longtime friend of a man who was airlifted after being shot in the eye has raised 1,150 to support airborne lifesavers - through another shoot.

Brian Cook, 64, arranged a charity clay pigeon shoot on the top of Carlton Bank in the North York Moors, on behalf of his friend Jim Harding, 63.

In October 2014, Mr Harding was working on a shoot on the Danby Estate, where he has worked for more than 30 years.

And the incident happened when firing started before father-of-one Mr Harding was in position - and as a result he had not put on his safety glasses.

One of the pellets hit him in the left eye which severed the optic nerve and damaged his vision, causing him to lose his sight in that eye.

Mr Harding, from Whitby, said: A gentlemen shot in my direction, and when I heard the shot, I wondered what was that? and then I turned round and another shot was fired and I could see it coming towards me before it hit me in the eye.

"It happened in an instant, and felt like when you get something caught in your eye.

I was situated two miles from the road, so this is just one example of why we need air ambulances.

"If we didnt have them, a lot of people probably wouldnt get to hospital in time."

Mr Harding was airlifted to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, but despite everyones best efforts, he lost the sight in one eye.

However he still wanted to thank the Great North Air Ambulance so he and his son Sam Harding, 38, asked Mr Cook to help them arrange a clay pigeon shoot to raise money for the charity.

Mr Cook, 64, said: Ive organised clay pigeon shoots in the past, so when Jim and Sam asked if I would put one together for GNAAS I obviously said yes.

My daughter has been airlifted twice after being in horse riding accidents, and its surprising how many of her riding friends have also fallen and required the assistance of the air ambulance.

I really appreciate the service the air ambulance provides as you never know when you are going to need it.

The shoot will now be held annually with the winner's name engraved on a shield.

See the original post:
Shot in the eye - but still aiming to help, Whitby man rising cash for the Great North Air Ambulance - The Northern Echo (registration)

This entry was posted on August 5, 2017 at 4:44 pm and is filed under Eye Sight & Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |