Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, which is headquartered on the edge of Wellington, is celebrating winning a share of a £1 million fund.

The money was put up by the Benefact Group who are donating one million pounds to charity for the fifth year in a row as part of its Movement for Good awards.

The Air Ambulance, which relies on donations to operate, were awarded £1,000.

The money will help the service carry out its life saving work, which saw it carry out 2424 missions last year alone.

The Air Ambulance is one of three Somerset charities to benefit from the latest round of the award, joining Merrior Majorettes in Crewkerne and the Ferne Animal Sanctuary in Chard in winning funds.

Thanking supporters in Somerset, Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive of Benefact Group, said: “We would like to thank every single person who took the time to nominate a good cause as part of our Movement for Good Awards. Benefact Group is the third largest corporate donor in the UK and has an ambition to be the biggest.

"Owned by a charity, all of its available profits go to good causes, and the more the Group grows, the more the Group can give. We know that £1,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will change lives for the better.”

The Benefit Group are an international group of financial services companies which give all available profits to charity. They say the group has donated almost £200 million to charity since 2014.