Bristol dad who survived explosion raises £10k for flying docs

A father-of-four who cheated death when he was set on fire in an 11,000-volt explosion at work has handed a £10,000 cheque to the air ambulance team who flew him to hospital.

Steve Edwards was barely recognisable after suffering severe burns in the terrifying accident in September last year, but is now making a good recovery.

The 52-year-old visited the Great Western Air Ambulance base at Filton Airfield yesterday with his wife Lynn, their nine-year-old daughter Lauryn and his boss Stuart Wilsmore.

Together they handed over a cheque for £10,350 to the air ambulance team, which will be used to keep the helicopter running.

The money is mainly a donation from Mr Edwards' employer Powersystems UK, but also includes individual donations from Mr Edwards' colleagues after a collection at their Christmas party.

Cable jointer Mr Edwards was connecting a high-voltage switch in Stroud in the belief the electricity was turned off when the accident happened, and he believes he only survived because his wristwatch took the electricity down to earth rather than his body.

Mr Edwards, who lives in Bedminster Down, was airlifted to Frenchay Hospital after the accident and spent five days in intensive care being treated for burns to his face, chest, neck and arms.

He said: "I am doing OK, but it has reached a difficult stage now where my recovery progress has levelled out.

"Days like this are a real positive boost, and if I wasn't taking so many anti-depressants as part of my recovery, I would be very emotional being here.

"I am so grateful for what they did that day, without them I wouldn't be here. They saved my life.

"The amount donated today from my company is absolutely incredible."

Mr Edwards has already returned to ward 104 to thank the staff who cared for him – money collected from family and friends was given to the nursing team so they could put it towards their Christmas night out.

And he plans to keep fundraising.

"We have raised other amounts of money too, such as £500 which is going to the Frenchay physiotherapy department for them to buy a Wii games console," he said.

"I want to have a party and an auction, and my daughter's school Cheddar Grove Primary and Scout group Bleinheim Scouts are planning on fundraising too."

Mr Wilsmore, managing director of Powersystems UK, said: "Over the years we have supported different charities but this year we have a personal reason to do this.

"We wanted to say thank you to these guys for getting Steve to hospital so quickly."

GWAA's chief executive, Paul Weir, said: "It is an incredible donation and we are really grateful. Every single penny we get is from donations like this, from the public. Steve is living proof that the system works, and it's wonderful to see him doing so well.

"It costs us £15 a minute to keep the helicopter running when the blades are turning, so this money will go a long way towards that.

"That money will save many lives in the weeks to come."

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