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Saucy calendar helps air ambulance coffers
IT'S enough to make Katie blush!
North West Air Ambulance heroes are to be exposed to the public after stripping off in the name of charity for a special Bare in the Air calendar.
It costs 3.5m a year to run the life-saving service which sees Katie – the NWAA helicopter – fly to people's rescue all over the North West.
It is hoped the cheeky charity calendar, which features NWAA staff and members of the public, will boost funds to run a new helicopter which will be launched into the skies next month.
Pilot Neil Airey and engineer Al Witter, who are based at Blackpool airport, left little to the imagination as they posed for the calendar alongside Thornton volunteer Lynne Naylor.
Mr Witter, otherwise known as Mr February, said: "It was one of those mad things you do on a spur of the moment.
"I've never done anything like that before. It was a bit nerve racking for everybody initially but once you'd done it, it became a giggle.
"There was a lot of discretion used but there were security cameras in the hanger so I'm sure someone has managed to record the shoot!"
Mr Airey, who has been a pilot for the NWAA for eight years, but will now be famed for being Mr September, said they are called out on life-saving missions an average of five times a day.
He added: "The main thing about it is to raise the profile of the NWAA. It's great that people have got the bottle to do something like this.
"There are people doing all sorts of outrageous things to raise money for us all the time like sitting in a bath of beans or running a marathon so it's good for us to join in too."
The less than modest models hope Blackpool residents will be rushing out to their nearest Booths supermarket to buy the cheeky calendar, which costs just 5.
All proceeds will be used for the upkeep of Katie – named after Cleveleys woman Katie Kaine who left 500,000 in her will in 2005 - and the new helicopter, which will be based a Barton Aerodrome just outside Manchester.
Ged Jones, NWAA promotions manager, said: "We hope this naughty but nice calendar will raise lots of funds.
"We need to raise 3.5m a year which is an enormous amount of cash. The people of Blackpool are great supporters."
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Weather for Blackpool
Sunday 27 May 2012
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Temperature: 14 C to 27 C
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