A SON whose dad almost died in a motorbike crash has helped raise thousands of pounds for the Great North Air Ambulance as he gears up to take on the Yorkshire Marathon.

The Press reported earlier this year that Connor Stainthorpe and his friends Sam Harrison and Liam Broadhead, all 21, are in training for this year’s challenge in York on October 12.

They were spurred on to support the Great North Air Ambulance after Connor’s dad, Derek, 50, almost died when he was riding his Triumph Tiger motorbike along the B1222 between Cawood and Kelfied and his front wheel skidded and he left the road and hit a signpost.

The air ambulance took him to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield where he was treated and had to stay for a month. The fundraising effort is Connor’s way of thanking the service.

He said: “Now that Channel 4 are covering the race this year, we would love for them to pick up the story. We have T-shirts with the air ambulance logo on them and it would help increase our total - with gift aid we have raised about £3,700 already and we hope to raise more.

"We are all doing about four runs a week at the minute and I did 20 miles in three hours five minutes so we are aiming to do the marathon in under four hours. It's been tough fitting in all the runs with work, but we have been eating loads of carbs, I've doubled my porridge intake and eaten lots of pasta.”

The crash happened in March 2010 when Mr Stainthorpe was 46 and Connor was 17 and studying for his A-levels.

Mr Stainthorpe, from Kelfield, suffered a punctured lung, a broken arm, broken shoulder, six broken ribs and a dislocated knee.

Mr Stainthorpe, who is married to Joanne, 50, and works as a printer in Leeds, said it had been a long struggle with various operations leaving him with five metal ribs and a metal plate in his arm.

Last year, 6,100 runners tackled the route around York and into the surrounding countryside, contributing an estimated £1 million to the local economy.

For more useful training tips from bloggers and in-depth coverage on the day visit www.yorkpress.co.uk/marathon

If you are taking part, tell us your story at alexander.ross@thepress.co.uk

To donate go to justgiving.com/connor-stainthorpe or text the code GNAA93, your name and amount to 70070.