THE Great North Air Ambulance Service has warned supporters to think carefully about where to send charitable donations.

Founder of the GNAAS, Grahame Pickering, spoke out following a local increase in fundraising by national charity The Children’s Air Ambulance (CAA).

The CAA offers hospital transfers for seriously ill children but is not based in the North-East and does not respond to emergencies in the region – unlike the GNAAS.

Sources say the Midlands-based charity has only flown in the region a handful of times.

In comparison, the GNAAS treated and airlifted 59 children in the region just last year and has flown tens of thousands of people since its inception.

Concerns have been raised by those who believe the CAA’s intensive fundraising in the North-East is confusing its residents and impacting on the amount raised by the GNAAS.

Mr Pickering, who founded the GNAAS in 2001, said it was important to allow people to make an informed decision as to where their donations go.

He said the charity had recently dealt with the concerns of dozens of supporters regarding an upturn in CAA fundraising.

He said: “The CAA is a legitimate charity which transfers paediatric patients between hospitals.

“It has nothing to do with the Great North Air Ambulance Service.

“It is not for me to tell the public which charities to support, that’s a matter for them.

“However, it’s important that people can make an informed decision before they make their donation – especially when it could involve money flowing out from the North to a charity based in the Midlands.”

A spokeswoman for the CAA would not provide figures for the amount of times its air ambulance has flown missions in the North-East.

She said the charity had flown to the region’s hospitals on multiple occasions, adding that the specialist nature of the service meant it did not fly as often as services like the GNAAS.

She added: “Local air ambulances, such as Great North Air Ambulance, provide a great service to their local communities, but it is very different from the service that the Children's Air Ambulance provides.

“Unlike many air ambulances, the Children's Air Ambulance receives no government funding and relies entirely on the generosity of local communities to fund its work.”