THIS year’s Foxy Hunters Charity Calendar has raised an impressive £35,000 for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

In total, the raunchy calendar raised over £70,000, with the other £35,000 going to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.

Started in 2010 by Trowbridge photographer David Betteridge, the calendars have raised just over £175,000 for the two charities.

The calendar is shot in black and white and features scantily clad local riders with an equestrian theme and has huge popularity on Facebook with over 225,000 followers.

Mr Betteridge said: “I’m very happy with the amount raised, it’s an improvement on last year.

“Of course it would have been nice to raise even more but I guess you can’t grumble too much at £70,000.

“All of the girls who feature in the calendar are horse riders so they appreciate how important the Wiltshire Air Ambulance is, as horse riders require the service quite often due to the remote locations in which riding takes place.

“The people who work for the air ambulance are amazing and deserve all the support they can get.”

A total of 16 riders took part in the 2016 calendar shot at stables and venues around Wiltshire and Somerset.

The idea was conceived by Mr Betteridge following a riding accident involving a friend of his, who was flown to John Radcliffe Hospital by air ambulance and received immediate treatment which saved her life.

Rebecca De La Bedoyere, senior fundraising manager at Wiltshire Air Ambulance, said: “Over seven years the Foxy Hunters Charity calendars have raised £85,000 for Wiltshire Air Ambulance, including £35,000 from the 2016 calendars.

“This is an incredible amount and has helped to keep the air ambulance flying. We are very grateful to the people who are involved in producing and buying the calendars.”

The 2017 calendar is currently being printed and is available to pre-order from the website: www.foxyhunters.co.uk.