A MOUNTAIN biker who was left with a catalogue of injuries has donated a cycling weekend to the charity that came to his rescue.

Ivan Astbury was treated and airlifted by the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) after a serious mountain bike crash in Hamsterley Forest, County Durham, in 2017.

Mr Astbury, from Bishopthorpe, near York, was cycling with his son Matthew, when he came off his bike.

The emergency services were contacted and Mr Astbury had to be put into an induced coma before the GNAAS paramedics could take him to hospital.

As Matthew had gone on ahead and there were no witnesses to Mr Astbury's crash, its cause is likely to remain a mystery forever.

Mr Astbury returned to the scene of his accident when he took part in last year’s Hamsterley Beast and managed to raise the most funds for GNAAS out of all the competitors.

He was rewarded for his fundraising efforts with a prize of a mountain biking or road cycling weekend kindly donated by Saddle Skedaddle.

However, Mr Astbury and his wife Sally decided to give the weekend break to GNAAS, which will be auctioned at this year's Air Angels Charity Ball on Saturday, June 15.

If you have any gifts that you would like to donate to the ball, please get in touch with the team via the website.

Tickets for the ball can be purchased at greatnorthairambulance.co.uk