Somerset's Freewheelers delivering life-saving blood through the night

Instead, it’s the dedicated volunteers that work through the night transporting vital medical supplies to hospitals across Somerset.

The Freewheelers EVS forms part of the web that connects to the entire country - but the first group started here in Somerset in Weston-Super-Mare.

The riders start their shift at 7pm in the evening, and will be on-call until 7am in the morning Monday-Thursday. At the weekend the shift starts at 7pm on Friday and ends on 7am on Monday.

On Bank Holidays, a rider is ready at 24-hours a day.

It’s tireless work - and that’s where the motto ‘Riding for Life’ comes from.

Blood bike signs outside a hospital. 

Not a single person within the organisation gets paid, it runs entirely on volunteers and receives zero funding from government.

One volunteer, Howard Millington, said that on an average night, a rider would get five or six jobs to go to, but it can easily be more than that.

“We go all over the place,” He said.

“You could be at Musgrove in Taunton, then get called to Minehead Community Hospital, then up to Bristol, then to Wells, back to Taunton etc. On a weekend, you can easily do 800 miles without a problem.

“The most I ever had was 15 jobs in an hour, you’ve got to remain calm.”

Each job is given a rating of non-urgent, urgent or emergency. A non-urgent call needs to be completed any time before 7am, urgent calls should be made as soon as possible, and emergency calls mean someone’s life is a risk and the delivery needs to be made within an hour.

Riders must be qualified to an advanced standard - but other volunteers are also needed to help co-ordinate riders, fundraise and complete admin jobs.

Mr Millington says he got involved as he wanted to give back to the community.

He added: “I was in a position where I could and wanted to give something back.

“I’ve always had a love of motorbikes so it seemed like a good fit.

“I’ve been volunteering for around four years now - it’s exciting.”

Mr Gittoes and his bike. 

Another volunteer, Rob Gittoes, also wanted to find a way to put his love of riding to good use.

“I started by taking the police bike safe scheme,” He said.

“I was amazed by how much I didn’t know. It exposed me to so much. Then I took a Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents course and received a gold.

“I wanted to find a way that I could use this skill that would also benefit others.

“Now I’m using my advanced riding skills, I’m enjoying my riding and I’m riding efficiently and for a good reason. I also love that it’s a genuine charity - no one gets paid.”

The riders go on runs in all weather and conditions.

As well as delivering blood samples, the team also deliver things like breastmilk, medical files and medication.

One experience Mr Gittoes holds close to him was delivering medication to someone’s house.

He said: “It wasn’t an emergency call, it was to deliver some medication.

“The weather was awful.

“But the reception I got when I arrived made it clear that the job was so rewarding. The medication was for a cancer patient, and I was just there to do my bit to make sure someone benefits.

“Remembering that keeps me going through the winter.”

It’s not just Somerset that benefits from the hard work of the charity, as when tragedy strikes elsewhere in the country, the blood bike community comes together to relay blood and other materials to where there are needed.

After the Manchester bombings in May 2017, the riders were used to transport blood from Cornwall up to Manchester using the organisations across the country in a relay.

Each shift sees a rider on-call in the West, East and North. There’s also a relief bike and other people on standby in case there’s an emergency job that needs completing and the rider is far away on another call.

The charity is always looking for volunteers to help out in a variety of ways.

It runs entirely on donations so is in need of fundraisers as well as advanced riders.

A spokesman said: “We are always looking for fundraisers, telephone coordinators and riders. Some members are long serving and others are active for a year or two until their individual circumstances change. Both types are very important to the charity in order to keep it both stable and to bring in fresh blood - no pun intended.”

For information visit freewheelers.org.uk/.