MORE than £9,000 has now been raised for the Wales Air Ambulance in memory of an Usk teenager who died in a car accident last December.

Ashley Thomas, 19, died on 27th December in a car accident on the Mitchell Troy road between Raglan and Monmouth when he lost control of the car he was driving.

The Wales Air Ambulance attended but Ashley was pronounced deceased at the scene, while his girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car, was taken to University Hospital Wales with minor injuries.

The inquest into his death found Ashley “unexpectedly lost control of the vehicle” and the coroner concluded his death was the result of a road traffic collision.

The Wales Air Ambulance was chosen as Ashley had done a project on the charity when at Caerleon Comprehensive School, prompting his mother Olwyn to support the charity.

Ashley’s funeral donations were given to Wales Air Ambulance, and in March Olwyn, her brother and sister Bryan and Wendy and Ashley’s girlfriend Amy presented a cheque for £2,700 to the charity.

Since then, Olwyn has become a volunteer and has continued to collect for the air ambulance.

Lots of events have taken place this year including a fun run, a motown evening, a quiz and a bucket collection, which have contributed to raising £9,078.50, with donations continuing to come in.

The most recent bucket collection, which took place in Monmouth on Saturday 29th September, raised £1,403 for the charity when members of Chris Williams Fitness Usk joined the effort.

Olwyn is very thankful to the support from Usk businesses, including the One Stop Usk and The Castle Inn in Twyn Square which have raised hundreds in their collection tins.

“So many businesses in Usk have been so kind, providing raffle prizes,” she said.

“I’d also like to thank everyone who gave money in Monmouth for their generosity.”

Olwyn has now set a target of raising £10,000, and has a number of other events planned this year including a tractor run in December and a Quinnell Candles party.

To donate to the appeal and for more information about upcoming events visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/olwyn-thomas