THE father of two children airlifted to hospital after a head-on car crash has raised hundreds for the air ambulance that rescued them by completing a half marathon - despite suffering life-changing injuries himself.

Darren Handyside and his children, Jack and Sophie, were all severely injured in the crash at Staindrop, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, in 2012.

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) sent two of its aircraft to the incident where Sophie had suffered a fractured skull and broken wrist, while Jack had a bleed on the brain which was severely swollen.

The family are now committed fundraisers for the service.

Mr Handyside, who uses a wheelchair as a result of the injuries he suffered, tackled the Great North Run earlier this year alongside his sister, Michelle James.

After completing the race five times previously as a runner, Mr Handyside admitted that he thought being on wheels would make the course easier.

He added: “I didn’t do too much training to be honest.

“I bought a new sports wheelchair and I did a couple of test runs in that, going up a bit of an incline but that was it.

“In the end it wasn’t too bad. My sister was helping me by pushing me up the hills and I was freewheeling down the other side, dodging all the other runners.

“After about 10 miles a man running nearby started helping me up the hills and he stayed with me for the rest of the race.

“I was in pain by the very end and he pushed me over the line and got me there.”

Mr Handyside completed the half marathon in two hours 37, ahead of his sister on two hours 50.

He raised £1,350 with his efforts, shared between GNAAS and Help for Heroes.

Mr Handyside was invited to visit the GNAAS base at Durham Tees Valley Airport to hand over the cheque, taking Jack, Sophie and their older sister Lucy with him.

He added: “The air ambulance is a very big deal for our family.

“Jack is coming along brilliantly at school and is progressing better than the doctors thought.

“Sophie is doing really well too and will start at Staindrop in September. Her injuries are very complex but she’s achieving.”