Family of man who died on bike ride thank air ambulance

Neil Pollard, 56, from Endmoor, near Kendal, was riding his bike around his local area in November 2022 and posed for a selfie during his trip. Approximately an hour after the photo was taken, he collapsed and died.

The Great North Air Ambulance was one of the first responders to the incident. 

Josh and Josh's girlfriend El, Neil, Sam and Tracy Pollard (Image: Great North Air Ambulance)

His wife Tracy Pollard, 56, said: “He loved being outdoors, particularly walking and cycling. We had only recently moved into our dream home in Kendal in July 2022, and we were loving exploring our new local area.

“As it was a beautiful day, he decided to go out on his bike, something which we normally did together, but I was celebrating Remembrance Day at a service so wasn’t with him.

“When I was on my way back, I phoned him and we spoke briefly. He was having an amazing morning and had gone to the wind turbines close to us which he had wanted to see.

“I was in the house a little later when he called to say he was feeling a little wobbly and would I pick him up. He dropped me a pin on the map and asked me to bring him some chocolate and his car with the bike carrier on.”

Mrs Pollard arrived at the scene only 12 minutes later and found her husband collapsed on the floor.

“A lovely man called Dave was giving him CPR and then a defibrillator from the village hall arrived and was used. After that, Kerry, a first aid responder from Endmoor arrived, followed shortly by the North West Ambulance Service and Terry and Theo from the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS)," she said. 

“Unfortunately, despite everyone’s best efforts Neil could not be saved.  A post-mortem showed he had suffered an acute cardiac arrest due to a blood clot.

READ MORE: Family thank Windermere community for trying to save dad's life

“We were totally unaware that he had any health issues at all, he had never smoked or drank and hadn’t eaten meat for the last 10 years. He exercised regularly and was always the first one up a hill on a steep bike ride.”

Mrs Pollard met her husband when they were both 16 and they had been together for 40 years before he died.

She said: “Neil was an incredibly intelligent, kind, patient and funny man. He lived his whole life in the technological world and was an early adopter of every new gadget.

“He would do anything to help anyone and was an amazing dad to our two sons Joshua and Samuel whom he adored as they did him.

“He was my best friend, a partner in crime and my everything husband for 34 years.”

Following the incident, the Pollard family set up a JustGiving page to raise money for a defibrillator with the remainder being donated to GNAAS.

The family raised a total of £9,200, meaning they could buy two defibrillators for the local area and contribute £5,200 to GNAAS. This will fund at least one GNAAS mission.