Round Table members hope the sky's the limit as they aim to raise funds for the county's air ambulance service.

Newly-elected president of the UK Round Table Peter Manley has chosen the UK's air ambulance services as his national charity.

And that is good news for Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance.

Last week, the Oxford Mail revealed the charity faced a £40,000 budget deficit because of the spiralling cost of fuel.

Mr Manley said: "There are very few people who haven't heard of air ambulances, but many will not know this crucial life saving service receives no state funding.

"I am determined that all air ambulances across the UK will be helped by my presidency.

"Those early minutes of an accident, injury or serious illness can mean the difference between life and death and that is why the air ambulance service is so critical."

The Round Table is a national association open to men aged 18 to 45 and each year its members raise more than £4m for national and local charities.

There are more than 600 Round Table clubs in the UK and Ireland, and Mr Manley said their fundraising efforts will be matched by those of their partner clubs, the Ladies Circle, Ex-Round Tablers and Tangent, who together form the Round Table family.

Mr Manley added: "Together we shall be setting out to raise tens of thousands of pounds for the air ambulances across the country."

Oxford Round Table chairman Jason Priest said his branch would be looking to put on extra fundraising events in the coming months.

He said: "We are looking to do a few more projects to benefit the county's air ambulance service.

"Perhaps a sports day and a golf day, there are lots of projects and ways that we will be looking to raise money."

However, Mr Priest said the drive to raise money for the county's air ambulance service would not impinge on its fundraising activities for other local charities.

Air ambulance income development manager Carl Undery said: "We are very pleased to hear the Round Table, along with the other organisations, have adopted us as their charity of choice.

"Anything these organisations can do to will help to provide a vital emergency service for the Thames Valley region."