THE heartbroken family of a murder victim have met the medics who battled to save his life after he was fatally shot.

Vanessa Prest, the mother of Lee Pettite, paid tribute to the specialist trauma from Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) crew who flew to his aid in a desperate attempt to stop the 22-year-old’s life ebbing away.

Mr Pettite was fatally wounded when he was shot in the back close to his home in Bankfields, Eston, near Middlesbrough, on March 1 last year.

The crew flew to the incident and performed advanced treatment on the 22-year-old before he was transported to hospital in a road ambulance, where en route, the medics got his heart beating again, but he died a short time later.

Mrs Prest, 46, said: “A year on and it’s still as raw as ever. I’ve not come to terms with it.

“The GNAAS team do an amazing job. They did everything they could. We can’t thank them enough.”

Mrs Prest, Lee’s sister Chloe Prest and his stepfather Andrew Prest visited the GNAAS airbase at Durham Tees Valley Airport where they met doctor Chris Smith, paramedic Andy Mawson and pilot Keith Armatage who carried out cutting-edge medical interventions to desperately try to save his life.

“We wanted to come and mark the anniversary,” said Mrs Prest. “We have also released balloons and raised a glass to my loving son.”

Mrs Prest who has completed a sponsored walk for GNAAS in the past, plans to hold an annual fundraiser for the service in Lee’s memory.

“People should support the charity. It’s a fantastic organisation,” she said.

The GNAAS doctor and paramedic team fly to hundreds of critically ill or injured patients every year and need to raise £4.9m to continue to operate.

The charity is in the process of developing a new base and a Medical Centre of Excellence at Urlay Nook, near Stockton, on the former Elementis chromium works site.

And it has agreed a deal for the site but it is dependent on planning permission being granted by Stockton Borough Council.

To support visit gnaas.com

l Following a trial in December, Luke Lovell, 22, of Wilton Way, was found guilty of Mr Pettite's murder. Gordon Blue Smith, 23, of Laburnum Road, was convicted of manslaughter.

Christopher Stubbs, 21, from South Bank, had already admitted murder.

Stubbs, who gunned down Mr Pettite as he ran for his life was given a life sentence with a minimum tariff of 24 years before parole is considered. Lovell, who helped chase Mr Pettite before the fatal shooting, must serve life with a minimum of 25 years. Smith was jailed for 12 years for manslaughter.