THE family of an upper dale woman who died after suffering a heart attack have organised an afternoon tea in her memory to help raise funds for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) who airlifted her to hospital.
Gill Mitchell was just 63 when she collapsed at her home near Middleton-in-Teesdale.
When emergency services said an ambulance would take 90 minutes to arrive, husband Nigel, a retired paramedic, tried to drive her to the hospital but had to pull over in the village when Mrs Mitchell stopped breathing.
Paramedics arrived after 45 minutes as well as the air ambulance, who flew Mrs Mitchell to James Cook University Hospital, on Teesside, but she was declared dead on arrival.
Three years on, her family have organised the fundraising event, with the help of friend Nancy Coll, in Gill’s memory to raise money for the much-needed emergency service.
Mr Mitchell said: “They came for Gill when she took bad, and they did all they could.”
Daughter Lyn McLoughlin said: “Living here, the GNAAS is so important, and we need it.
“We raised about £2,000 in donations from her funeral and my brother Ross, my husband Paul and I raised just short of £4,000 from walking the 84 miles of Hadrian’s Wall.”
It is the second afternoon tea the group has hosted at the Teesdale Hotel in Middleton-in-Teesdale. Last year the event, held on Mothering Sunday, was a huge success raising £3,998 for the charity. Mrs Coll said: “Nigel asked me last year if we could make it an annual affair. We had last year’s event on Mother’s Day, but we wanted to do it as close as possible to Gill’s birthday – April 15.”
The afternoon tea on Saturday, April 12, will have three sittings at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm, each with a capacity of 32 people.
Mrs Coll added: “We did four sittings last year, but we have cut it down to three because it was absolutely rammed.”
The afternoon tea includes a selection of sandwiches, cakes and scones a glass of Prosecco or Pimms and tickets cost £30 per head of which £6 will be donated to GNAAS.
A raffle with more than 40 prizes donated from businesses and individuals across the dale including gift vouchers from butchers, cafes and restaurants as well as a raft of hampers will be drawn on the day.
Mrs Coll added: “We are also going to do a special raffle on the day to win a luxury hamper and a crate of wine with tickets priced at £5.”
For more information or to book tickets contact Nancy Coll at The Teesdale Hotel on 01833 640 264 or visit the https://shor turl.at/7g5vR.
