Highland and Islands Blood Bikes has received a £750 donation to support its voluntary service transporting vital medical supplies for NHS Highlands and Islands.

The donation was made by Transport Scotland’s trunk road operating company BEAR Scotland, which manages and maintains trunk roads throughout the Highlands and Argyll & Bute, where the lifesaving charity operates.

Highland and Islands Blood Bikes acts as an extension of the NHS’s Highland transportation services. Covering an area of Scotland equivalent to Belgium, it relies solely on donations and grants. The service transports medications, blood samples and other vital materials that the NHS needs delivered across this area.

Operating a fleet of six motorbikes, one van and one car, Highland and Islands Blood Bikes has bases in Inverness, Fort William, Oban and Wick, which enable it to cover the entire area quickly and efficiently.

Gordon Scott, Highland and Islands Blood Bikes Secretary said: “Donations are our life blood. We travel 120,000 miles annually. Donations help us buy and maintain our bikes as well as pay for our petrol. No donation is too small. We are grateful to BEAR for supporting us.”

Stephen Urquhart, BEAR Scotland’s North West Strategic Road Safety Engineer, nominated the charity to benefit from the road company’s Regional Charity Initiative.

Stephen said: “Living and working in Inverness and travelling around the Highlands, I see Highlands and Islands Blood Bikes almost every day. I know some people who volunteer with them and I hope this money helps them continue their good work.”

The BEAR Regional Charity Initiative encourages employees to nominate a charity or cause for funding that operates in the communities in which BEAR works. Given BEAR manages and maintains trunk routes from the A83 at Campbeltown to the A9 north of Perth to Scrabster and the A87 on Skye, the footprint of this charity correlates to the communities that BEAR serves in the North West of Scotland.