AIRBORNE lifesavers have been given a major boost in their constant struggle to keep flying.

One of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s longest-standing corporate supporters has vowed to continue to support the charity for a further five years - with services worth more than £170,000.

SICL, an award-winning technology company, provides the charity with IT support, services and infrastructure and will now continue to do so until at least 2018.

The YAA has long been SICL’s chosen charity but in 2006 it decided to do more by offering IT support and services free of charge over five years.

So far that has saved the charity more than £125,000 but with the increasing IT infrastructure of the YAA, the new agreement will be now worth in excess of £170,000.

SICL’s managing director Cliff Fox said: “We have a great admiration for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance; operationally, personally and ethically. “

The charity’s operations manager, Neale Jacobs, said: “We cannot thank SICL enough for their continued support.”

He described the scale of SICL support as “phenomenal” and added: “This is equivalent to keeping us flying for over three weeks.

“We have to fundraise each and every day of the year to keep the charity running, so savings of this nature really are significant, and allow us to spend donated funds on keeping both of the helicopters maintained and in the air saving lives.”

The independent charity needs to raise £7,200 each day and operates two life-saving helicopters across the Yorkshire region, seven days per week, 365 days per year.