Tesco staff and their customers have raised an incredible £40,000, with staff from across the country walking a section of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path for the Wales Air Ambulance Charity.

Forty-eight Tesco stores have taken part in a fundraiser which spanned from Milford Haven, up to Aberystwyth across to Caerphilly, in tribute to the team reaching 50,000 missions earlier this year.

Around 40 staff took part in a 12-mile hike along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path from Freshwater East to Broadhaven South on September 15, 2024. Local landlord Nigel Land, from Jack’s at the Longhouse provided shelter, hot drinks, and cooked food for the team.

Regional store managers Nicola McGuiness and Vanessa Martin worked with their teams to “create something special” after learning the lifesaving service had supported many of its staff members’ family and friends.

Martin, who runs an Express store in Swansea, said: “A colleague’s father, had a health emergency and needed the air ambulance, so we all felt it was a really important cause to get behind.”

Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury.

It is delivered via a unique Third Sector and Public Sector partnership. The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the charity’s vehicles.

The service is pan-Wales, and Matt Bourne who runs a Tesco Extra in Bridgend said: “It was great to catch up with so many people who we’ve worked with in the past who have moved to other stores, and I hadn’t seen for years.

“It was a positive experience, not only because we're helping a great local charity, but just to catch up and take some time out in the beautiful Welsh country.

“We were super grateful that Nigel at Jack’s at the Longhouse – stepped in and saved the day too – he really looked after us all.”

Each store has organised their own fundraisers from second-hand book sales, cake bakes too sponsored fitness challenges.

Larger stores were set a £1,500 target, whilst the smaller ones were tasked with raising £250.

Matt said: “There’s been a playful sense of competition between a few of the large stores, including Haverfordwest and Carmarthen who raised £2,300 between them.

Wales Air Ambulance needs to raise £11.2 million every year to keep its helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.

Mike May, Regional Fundraising Manager for the Wales Air Ambulance Charity said: “We were hugely proud to complete 50,000 missions earlier this year, but we could not have done it without fundraisers like this.

“To raise just over £40,000 is an incredible feat! It has been inspiring to see how everyone has pulled together. We are hugely grateful to all the staff and customers who made this possible.

“This large donation will really make a huge difference to so many people and help save lives across Wales.”