Scooter club uses tragedy to inspire fundraising

A local scooter club, which started fundraising for air ambulance charities after three of their members lost their lives, has been nominated for a BBC Make a Difference Award.

The Yate and Sodbury Scooter Club has raised nearly £25,000 for the Great Western, Dorset & Somerset and Wiltshire & Bath Air Ambulances through fundraising pages, music nights and donations.

All three air ambulances attended the scene of the crash on the morning of May 31 2025 that saw three club members lose their lives while traveling on scooters in convoy on a road trip to Normandy in France.

Club member Andrew Davis said raising money for the charities was important because "we want to support them back".

Fundraising has "always been a big part of what we do," said club member Kevin Milford, raising money for various charities over the years including Bristol's Children's Hospital and blind veterans.

He said on rides there could be anything from 10 to 30 scooters driving along together.

But the crash involving three of its members in 2025 moved focus to the air ambulance charities.

Kevin Milford, club member, said it is still "very painful, I lost three really good friends, it's still very difficult to talk about but ... we help each other get through it".

The scooter community came together from around the UK and Europe to donate money.

Milford said they "couldn't have done it without them."

Davis said they originally planned to raise £10,000 and that soon increased and have now raised a total of £24,600.

Davis added "we were blown away by the support" and that Tim Davies, Marie Carol Jones, and Rob Best, who died in the crash, would have been "blown away too".

The scooter club is where many of the members met for the first time.

Davis said it was "through the club that they became friends".

He said Rob played a "big part in building the club up" when he joined and that Tim came a bit later but was a "great character with a dry sense of humour".

He added that losing Marie was a "big loss for all of us".

Dr Tim Godfrey, critical care doctor at Great Western Air Ambulance (GWAAC) charity said the money will make a "real tangible difference".

The average mission costs approximately £2,200 and "almost all of our income comes from charitable donations," he added.

Without donations, they "wouldn't be out there bringing hospital level care to the roadside," said Dr Godfrey.

He said he is "really proud" of people who can "turn such tragedy in their lives into something amazing for other people".

For their fundraising effort, the scooter club has been nominated for a BBC Make a Difference Award which recognises and celebrates local people and groups who make a positive contribution in their communities.

Bristol's Make a Difference Awards will be held on 24 September 2026.

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