THE father of a young moped rider who died after a crash has thanked the Great North Air Ambulance Service for trying to save his life.

Kevin Crick visited the service’s base at Durham Tees Valley Airport to meet paramedic Stuart Thompson, who battled to save his son Robert after the accident on the A64 near Malton, in Ryedale.

The 21-year-old, of nearby Rillington, was riding his moped two days before Christmas in 2014 when he was involved in a collision with a Mitsubishi Chamonix people carrier.

He was assessed and treated on scene by the air ambulance trauma team before being flown to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, but died later that day. At his funeral, £1,400 was raised for the air service.

Mr Crick got in touch with the service to personally thank the crew.

He said: “I am eternally grateful for everything it did for Robert and it’s a privilege to meet the team.

“They tried to save my son and give him a chance to live, and although they managed to get him to the hospital quickly, unfortunately he didn’t make it.”

He said the air ambulance was a charity relying on donations and he would do what he could to ensure it continued.