THE air ambulance charity that rescued Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond after his horrific car crash is celebrating hitting the £2m fundraising mark.
Grateful bosses at Yorkshire Air Ambulance are ecstatic after their best ever year, which saw a massive £230,000 raised in the aftermath of "The Hamster's" high-profile smash in September.
The star is pictured in a recent TV interview as he recovers from the smash.
Generous fundraisers have enabled the charity to buy its first helicopter outright.
The aircraft is based at Leeds Bradford Airport.
A second helicopter, that will possibly be named after the diminutive star, is planned for next summer.
Martin Eede, chief executive of the charity, which was launched in 2000, said: "It's been an amazing year for us, not just in terms of fundraising but also in terms of awareness.
"We became the focus of the worldwide media after Richard Hammond's accident and the support we've received has been breathtaking. I don't think we would have raised this much so quickly.
"Incredibly, we took more money in October this year than we did during the entire year between 2003 and 2004. Now we've just got to keep going."
Yorkshire Air Ambulance hit the headlines when the distinctive yellow helicopter rescued fans- favourite Hammond, who suffered serious head in juries after the accident at the Elvington track, near York.
