A County Councillor and trainee paramedic hiked 46 miles for Wales Air Ambulance this summer.

Powys County Councillor for Kerry, Benjamin Breeze and studying paramedic, Annie Davies, hiked from Machynlleth and Montgomery for the life-saving charity.

The Rotary Across Wales hike took 18.5 hours, raising £748.63 via online fundraising.

Setting out on the hike at 2.30am, the pair hiked through the mid-July heat to complete their challenge.

Cllr Breeze said: “It was a struggle on the day.

“Annie taped my legs up in the morning due to my shin splints, which helped.

“Annie also suffered blisters on the walk...

“ Local residents on the route were so kind too.

“Many of them were not involved in the walk, but they offered to top up our water bottles, and some had set up little snack stations along the way.

“Living in such a rural area, you are much more aware of the importance of this service.

“Whenever we are out walking in the most isolated of spots, Annie often says to me, if there were a serious incident here, you’d want a helicopter to come to your aid, as an ambulance would struggle to reach these locations.

“This is becoming more of an issue with the continuing deterioration in our rural roads due to lack of maintenance.”

Wales Air Ambulance relies on public donations to raise £11.2m annually to keep helicopters in the air, along with some public sector funding.

Helicopters provide consultant-led, hospital-standard treatments flown to the patients, transferring them to the most appropriate hospital where necessary.

Annie said: “Since studying to become a paramedic, I am more aware of the needs of local communities when it comes to critical care.

“It’s important to continue to raise money for the Wales Air Ambulance to ensure care is delivered within our rural community.”