WHEN a poorly new born baby needs milk or a casualty can be saved by an organ transplant, a team of motorcyclists rev into action to help.

Blood bikes might be a familiar sight on our roads but few people realise that all the riders are volunteers.

The NHS relies on taxis to transport medical equipment, organs, blood and other supplies out of hours.

But Merseyside and Cheshire Blood Bikes help save the health service thousands of pounds each year by carrying essentials between hospitals.

Stuart Thompson, who has been volunteering with the charity for 18 months, said: “We do a lot of journeys in and around Warrington. Blood bikes kind of fix a hole in the NHS. 

“If hospitals have an emergency and they need blood or samples, they have to use an ambulance which means there is one less to respond to emergencies. Or they would use a taxi which can be £25 just to take one sample from Halton Hospital to Warrington Hospital.”

The group made 54 trips between hospitals in February alone and it is not uncommon for bikers to transport supplies from Cheshire to Birmingham or the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in central London.

Telecoms engineer Stuart, who lives in Widnes, said: “We had one occasion when somebody had drunk antifreeze and we did five days of taking samples back and forth to the specialist renal unit in Birmingham to help them get better.

“Recently I got called at 7pm as I was just settling down to watch television and told we had two litres of breast milk to deliver to a sick baby. When you realise that little feller’s not going to make it without the milk, it changes your perspective. You want to get the job done.”

The team of around 60 volunteers also includes call handlers and new motorcyclists get advanced training as well as a chance to ride the charity’s ‘vampire’ bikes.

Stuart added: “Everybody is in it for their own reasons. One of our riders from Sankey Bridges is suffering from prostate cancer and he’s a very dedicated rider. Whenever we need him, he’s there. Every single volunteer is amazing.

“In a way we are helping very sick people but we are also helping the NHS save money. Clatterbridge Hospital worked out that they were able to afford two band five nurses with the amount we saved them.”

If you are interested in volunteering, fundraising or riding for Merseyside and Cheshire Blood Bikes, visit mcbloodbikes.co.uk.