Cornwall Air Ambulance forced to close Helston charity shop due to lack of staff

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Cornwall Air Ambulance says if it not able to reopen its Helston charity shop it could lose of more than £100,000 in charitable funds.

The charity has started a major recruitment drive as some of its roles have been vacant after more than a year.

Two months ago the air ambulance charity had to close its Helston store because it could not find a suitable shop manager.

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But it is just one of a number of vacancies which is putting pressure on staff at their other charity shops.

Lynnette Hollett is the regional manager for North Cornwall stores.

She says the charity has got phones "going off the hook" with people wanting furniture collections - but it is struggling to staff pick-ups.

Van drivers like Nigel are in especially high demand to pickup donations and deliver furniture to customers. Credit: ITV News

"We want to get out there and collect that furniture so we need our van drivers, and then we need cover in the shop while the vans are out", she said.

"We need to keep everything running. That's incredibly difficult at the moment."

She says drivers are out early so they can return to stores and open up at after 10am as normal.

Nigel Cock is a driver for the Bodmin store.

"People are incredibly generous," he said.

"They want to give to the air ambulance all the time. But sometimes you've got to put them off for a week or two."

It costs the charity £5million a year to keep the air ambulance flying. Credit: Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust

Cornwall Air Ambulance needs to raise £5million each year to keep the helicopter flying to emergencies - and £1million is raised through its charity shops.

Chief executive Tim Bunting says closing the Helston store is has already cost the charity "thousands" and is having a "significant impact".

"Keeping your helicopter in the air starts from the ground up and we need like-minded people to fill staff positions across the charity", he said.

"The Cornwall Air Ambulance staff team are the engine room of the charity and that is why this recruitment campaign is so important to the mission of saving lives."

Roles being advertised include senior positions in finance, fundraising and education at the charity's HQ near Newquay to managing some of its community stores.

The charity has also increased their salaries by guaranteeing all staff will be paid the real living wage, which is calculated by the Living Wage Foundation.