Wrexham footballing legend and Wales Air Ambulance fund raising ambassador Dixie McNeil (left) presents Darren Jones with a certificate for raising over £600 with a charity football match watched by the rest of the Railway Inn team
Former Wrexham FC player and manager Dixie McNeil praised a local father for organising a charity football match in aid of Wales Air Ambulance.
Darren Jones, of Pen y Cae, near Wrexham, arranged the game to thank the charity for the treatment provided to his son Owen, who had been impaled by a falling branch while on holiday in Gwynedd.
Dixie, who is now lottery manager at the air ambulance, was on hand to accept a £600 donation from Darren following the event.
Owen, who was nine years old at the time, was camping with his cousin when the accident happened on 20 July 2013.
The youngster, now 10, fell out of a tree and a falling branch pierced his stomach. Wales Air Ambulance paramedics provided treatment at the scene and airlifted Owen to Ysbyty Gwynedd.
Darren, who used to play football for his local pub, The Railway Inn, Rhosllanerchrugog, arranged the fundraising match between the current squad and a team from the 1993 season.
He said: “The air ambulance is a service you never know you’ll need until it’s too late; but I really appreciate them now.
“As a way of saying “thank you” I organised the charity match and although the current squad beat us 7-0, the real winner was the Wales Air Ambulance.
“The paramedics were fantastic. When something like that happens, you don’t know what damage has happened.
“It was great that they got there so quickly to treat Owen, and thankfully there has been no lasting damage.”
Dixie, who scored 54 goals for Wrexham between 1977 and 1982 before returning to manage the club for four years in 1985, said: “Wales Air Ambulance is a registered charity and does not receive any support from the national lottery or government – we are entirely dependent on public donations.
“We rely totally on the support of people like Darren, and I can’t thank him enough for his generosity – it’s just a shame about the final score!
“From events like this to membership of the Wales Air Ambulance lottery, there are a number of ways for people to support our work across Wales.”
Paramedics from the air ambulance’s Caernarfon base attended the incident and arrived at the remote campsite in just 12 minutes.
Jason Williams, clinical and operations manager for the Wales Air Ambulance, said: “It was suspected that Owen had damage to his heart and lung as a result of the branch impaling itself through the lower left side of his rib cage.
“Luckily the branch seemed to ricochet off the rib cage, with no major damage to either organ.
“The paramedics were able to arrive promptly, provide treatment and airlift the young boy to hospital.”
