The air ambulance relies entirely on charitable donations

Paul Kelly, from Leyland, Lancashire, had both hands and a leg sewn back on after the accident at a tile factory last year.

News of his campaign for the North West Air Ambulance Service came on Wednesday as the service celebrated its fourth birthday.

Mr Kelly said the ambulance, which relies completely on charitable donations, allowed him access to vital surgery far more quickly than a road ambulance would have done.

Plastic surgery

He required both emergency treatment and reconstructive surgery after he fell in to a mixer at the factory in Whittle-le-Woods.

"I was loaded in to the air ambulance and I went on a three minute flight to Preston, where they stabilised me," Mr Kelly told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"I was there for a couple of hours and had a chat with one of the surgeons who suggested it would be a good idea for me to go to Wythenshawe, where they have one of the top plastic surgery units in Europe.

"So they loaded me in to the aircraft again and 40 minutes later I was at Wythenshawe and half-an-hour later I was in theatre having my limbs put back on."

As well as campaigning for more money, the air ambulance service is also appealing for more volunteer fundraisers.