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A father of two from Caerphilly is set to take on the Cardiff Half Marathon this weekend to raise money for Wales Air Ambulance.

Matthew Wright is the payroll manager for Mrs Buckét, a cleaning company which works alongside the charity, cleaning at their Cardiff heliport facilities.

Inspired by the work they do, the 33-year-old has decided to run the Cardiff Half Marathon in support of the charity. He said: “Once our team took over cleaning the Dafen and Cardiff Heliport facilities I started to learn more about the work of the lifesaving service.

“It’s incredible how much it costs to run, so I thought I want to do all I can to help towards hitting its target.”

Wales Air Ambulance say they need to raise £11.2 million every year to keep its helicopters in the air and its rapid response vehicles on the road.

Matthew continued: “Until I started looking into the charity, I didn’t realise the full extent of what the service does. The clinicians onboard are making a huge difference to helping save the lives of thousands of people each year.

“Every day across Wales people need urgent emergency care and I cannot imagine what it would be like if it didn’t exist.”

Matthew who has two daughters under the age of three, will be running this weekend alongside his wife Ellie. This will be Ellie’s first Cardiff Half Marathon and they will also be joined by Ellie’s brother, Sam Richard.

Matthew has also set himself another personal challenge. He added: “I’ve already signed up for the Brighton marathon. I’m planning to do that in aid of the Wales Air Ambulance, and I think I’ll keep doing things like that now going forward.”

Abi Pearce, regional fundraising manager at Wales Air Ambulance, said: “Our team sends Matthew, Ellie and Sam well wishes ahead of the Cardiff Half Marathon.

“We are hugely grateful that Matthew has taken the time to learn more about our charity and now wants to fundraise for us. It’s brilliant that he has not only committed to take on this event but also the Brighton Marathon.

“Thanks to the support of people like Matthew, we can continue serving the people of Wales and save lives.”