THREE generations of one family have every reason to be thankful to Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Four members of the Hoggarth family have all been airlifted to hospital by the charity in just over five years.

In late 2010, Adrian Hoggarth and his two young children were returning home to Hertfordshire after visiting relatives in Walkington, East Yorkshire, when they were involved in a road accident.

The family were trapped after their car ended up on its side in a ditch. Adrian suffered serious spinal injuries and a badly broken leg in the crash and the children were badly shaken.

Layla and Alex, just three and 18 months at the time, were released from their car seats and looked after by paramedics while fire and medical teams worked to free their Dad from the wreckage.

The family were flown to Hull Royal Infirmary in two Yorkshire Air Ambulances where the employment lawyer spent five weeks being treated for his injuries.

“I don’t know what we would have done without Yorkshire Air Ambulance and we are just so grateful,” said Adrian, 41.

“The paramedics were just brilliant. The children could not have been in better hands and they got me and them to hospital in minutes. It would have been a very long and difficult journey in a land ambulance.”

Earlier this year, Adrian's father, Ken, suffered a heart attack at the wheel of his car.

The 74-year-old was driving near his Driffield home when he was forced to pull over.

After emergency services arrived on scene it was clear he needed treatment as fast as possible and Ken was airlifted to Scarborough General Hospital.

Adrian added: “My Dad was driving home and began to feel increasingly unwell.

"He had suffered a heart attack and, as it’s a pretty long drive to hospital, Dad was just very fortunate that the air ambulance was available to get him to a specialist cardiac team so quickly.”

Ken spent a fortnight in Scarborough and then Castle Hill Hospital, Hull, before returning home where he is now recuperating.