WILTSHIRE Air Ambulance has received a generous boost to its coffers from the King and Queen pub.

Regulars at the Highworth hostelry handed over £2,313 to Colin Smith, of Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal, yesterday afternoon.

Pub manager Richard Myrtle, 33, said: "We started doing the meat raffle in May 2005, and we have been steadily collecting since then."

The meat comes from Reading butchers Gilberts, who sell at Blunsdon Market, and is raffled off by volunteers Chris Daw and Mary Bunting.

Mary, a Highworth resident, said: "We always get a good collection from the regulars, they are a generous lot.

"It's such a fantastic service to have in our society so we do anything we can to help."

Mr Myrtle added: "Our customers have been very good and we are glad that it has had a positive result for the air ambulance."

Mr Smith, 67, said: "It's more of a local pub than a big venue, so to have collected this much is fantastic.

"We get contributions all the time and they are all very welcome, but this ranks as generous as anything I have seen in my seven years as a volunteer."