LIFE-SAVING blood bikers have been handed a critical boost.

Blood Bikes Cumbria have taken ownership of a new motorbike to further fuel its work across the county.

The handover has followed a year of fundraising by Wigton-based coach company Reays in support of the charity.

A team from the firm presented the keys to the new bike to Blood Bikes Cumbria chairman Anne Marie Moffat, along with other committee members.

And there are hopes that latest addition to the fleet will help attract more volunteers, particularly women.

The new BMW F800 is smaller that the other machines currently on the road.

Anne Marie said: “We do have female controllers who work from home on their laptop and their phone.

“The hospital will ring our switchboard number, which goes through to the controllers who can dispatch our riders instantly, but we’d like to encourage more women to get out on two wheels and the addition of this bike to our fleet will help us do just that.

“We can’t thank Reays enough for their efforts and generosity.”

Finance director at Reays, Nicola Reay, said: “We’re delighted to donate a new Blood Bike.

“We recognise that these selfless volunteers both men and women are riding to save, 365 days a year. It can often be a life or death situation and our team can be proud to have contributed to the saving of lives across our home county.”