Small change has made a big difference to a Huddersfield charity providing a vital courier service for hospitals and hospices.

Voluntary motorbike riders at Whiteknights Emergency Voluntary Services operate between 7pm and 7am every weekday transporting blood, samples, medicines and other urgently needed medical items.

They serve organisations including Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, Kirkwood Hospice and the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice.

Now the charity has been handed a £500 donation from the Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation to buy new racks which allow vital items to be safely transported by motorbike.

The foundation is funded through the building society’s Small Change Big Difference scheme. Members of the Bradford-based society contribute to the scheme by donating the pennies from the interest received on their accounts just once a year to help smaller charities and good causes around the UK.

Whiteknights founder Vic Siswick said: “Our voluntary service does not cost the NHS anything but it definitely helps to save lives and benefit patients.

Operating Whiteknights is an expensive business. The racks we need can cost around £200 each and without the help of the charitable foundation we would struggle to meet that.”

Mr Siswick set up Whiteknights in 2008 after he recovered from cancer. He wanted to give something back to the NHS and help others in similar situations.

Terry Dutchburn, chairman of Whiteknights, said: “The charity has grown considerably over the past couple of years and we are very proud to be now operating in North, West and South Yorkshire. We’re aiming to continue to offer our service to more hospitals during 2015”

The charity has 70 registered advanced motorcyclists covering a network of hospitals and hospices across Yorkshire.

Pauline Giroux, corporate responsibility manager at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “While most of us are relaxing at home or in bed asleep, the Whiteknights are hard at work ensuring that hospitals get the supplies they need quickly and safely.

“I’m delighted that our members’ donations have been able to help such a worthwhile cause through the charitable foundation.”