A RUPTURED spleen, internal bleeding and serious brain and head injuries.

These are but a few of the injuries sustained by Tom Lock after his Mini Cooper collided with another car under the Orwell Bridge in 2003.

Mr Lock, of Yarmouth Road, was just 20 when the accident happened, and if not for the swift action of the East Anglian Air Ambulance he would have died at the scene.

Fast forward nine years and Mr Lock, now 29, who works at Call Connection, is backing the Ipswich Star’s Lifesaver appeal which aims to raise funds to help the service launch night flights.

“If I hadn’t have been flown to hospital, then I would have died,” he said. “I can’t really thank them enough for everything they did.

“I can’t actually remember anything about the crash, other than I was driving home from work when my brakes failed and I tried to steer out of the way but was then hit by oncoming traffic. If I had gone by land ambulance then I wouldn’t have reached hospital in time for them to know about my ruptured spleen.”

The air ambulance flew Mr Lock to Ipswich Hospital.

He was transferred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and spent two weeks in a coma.

When he was eventually released from intensive care, Mr Lock returned to Ipswich Hospital for eight weeks of treatment before being allowed home.

Mr Lock, who still suffers from short-term memory loss due to his brain injury, added: “Every-thing the air ambulance does is amazing.”

To donate to the appeal visit www.justgiving.com/starlifesaver

Has the air ambulance helped you? Call us on 01473 324790 or e-mail starnews@archant.co.uk