Grateful Barnsley woman Nichola Hawden volunteers to help Yorkshire Air Ambulance that saved dad's life

The helicopter provides an emergency service 365 days a year to five million people across four million acres of Yorkshire.

To celebrate National Volunteer Week this week, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance is shining the spotlight on just a few of the many volunteers who help keep the life-saving charity flying.

Nichola Hawden has been volunteering since 2018.

Her dad, Stephen Croft, was airlifted after suffering a cardiac arrest at the Barnsley v Burton Albion football match in front of 11,000 fans at Barnsley’s Oakwell Stadium in September 2018.

The incident was widely publicised as it happened just prior to kick-off.

Nichola said: “The YAA played a huge part in saving my dad’s life and his incident is still on people’s minds two years later.

“When I say I’m Steve Croft’s daughter, people tell me how much they remember the incident and then we’ll have a conversation about it.

Nichola’s first event as a volunteer was 999 day on The Moor in Sheffield city centre, organised in association with the city’s National Emergency Services Museum.

She said: “The staff and volunteers were all so lovely and friendly, and it felt like I had known them forever. I felt straight away that I was part of the YAA family. I was hooked from there.”

To find out about YAA volunteering opportunities, see yorkshireairambulance.org.uk/supporting-yaa/volunteers