HUNSTANTON LAWN TENNIS TOURNAMENT SERVES UP £2,000 DONATION TO NORFOLK BLOOD BIKES

Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament has donated £2,000 to Norfolk Blood Bikes.

The event, Britain’s largest tennis tournament, which this year attracted almost 1,200 competitors aged from under-10s to over 80s, supports a local charity each year.

The presentation was made at the event’s annual general meeting by Tournament chairman Andrew Creighton to Sandy Gourlay, chairman of the 2025 chosen charity Norfolk Blood Bikes.

Additionally, the charity, which relies on a team of volunteers to transport urgently required blood, platelets, plasma, samples, vaccines and medical instruments to hospitals in Norfolk and several medical centres throughout the region, raised a further almost £600 on its stand at August’s Tournament week. The organisation also delivers blood to the East Anglian Air Ambulance allowing it to extend its life-saving capability.

Norfolk Blood Bikes ran a raffle to win a Porsche Driving Experience during the Tournament and the winner was Addy Dickson, of Stoke Albany, Northamptonshire.

The half-day Experience takes place at the Silverstone Porsche Driving Experience Centre where, accompanied by an expert Porsche Driving Consultant, Addy will be able to put Porsche models of his choice through a range of challenging and exciting driving environments.

Addy, who has yet to take up the prize, said: “I am really looking forward to the Experience. I don’t drive a Porsche and I don’t play tennis, although I enjoy watching. A friend was at the Tournament and messaged me and other work colleagues about the charity and the prize. I donated and won. I was very surprised to win!”

Mr Gourlay said: “The support of local organisations, such as the Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament, and the community in the area is absolutely critical for the continued success of the charity. We would like to thank the Tournament organisers and all players and spectators for their support this year. The money will contribute towards the cost of buying an additional motorcycle for the Norfolk Blood Bikes’ fleet.”

Mr Creighton said: “Norfolk Blood Bikes perform a vital job across the county and the Tournament was delighted to support the charity this year and make a donation. Each year the event aims to support a local charitable organisation or good cause and make a substantial donation out of profits.”

At an average cost of £65 per task, Norfolk Blood Bikes estimate it saves the NHS a substantial amount of money which, instead, can be used to fund frontline patient care. Since launch in 2011, the organisation calculates that it has saved the NHS more than £1.3 million. During that time volunteers have completed more than 20,000 tasks and its fleet of liveried motorcycles and cars have covered around 1.135 million miles.

Most deliveries for blood and blood products start with a call to the Regional Blood Bank at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge. Deliveries are then rushed to pathology teams at either the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kings Lynn, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, or the James Paget Hospital, Great Yarmouth.

It costs Norfolk Blood Bikes around £60,000 a year to keep its fleet of 16 motorcycles and five cars operating and at no cost to the NHS and with no Government funding, the organisation is wholly reliant on donations to keep mobile.

Last year, Norfolk Blood Bikes, which presently has more than 100 volunteers, covered almost 150,000 miles delivering close to 1,600 boxes of blood products and almost 1,300 litres of donated breast milk.

The Tournament, which has been held for more than 100 years, is played on 38 grass courts on Hunstanton Recreation Ground. The 2026 event takes place from August 16-22.

· Further information on Norfolk Blood Bikes is available at https://www.norfolkbloodbikes.org.uk

· Further information on the Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament is available at https://www.hunstantonltt.co.uk

Photo caption: Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament chairman Andrew Creighton (third from left) with (left to right): Shane Finch, treasurer of Norfolk Blood Bikes, Sandy Gourlay, chairman of Norfolk Blood Bikes, and Chris Holt, Tournament community liaison officer.

For further information contact: Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament secretary Stephen Holt. Telephone 07368 844792 or email: info@hunstantonltt.co.uk.