Top Gear fund takes off

New Zealanders are among thousands of people who have contributed more than $500,000* towards a fund for the air ambulance service which took Richard Hammond, a presenter on the popular motoring show Top Gear, to hospital.

The 36-year-old co-host of the BBC programme suffered a significant brain injury when he crashed in a jet-powered dragster travelling at up to 480km/h during filming.

Fans set up a donation page on www.justgiving.com to raise money to cover the costs for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. If the target of $1.4 million is reached, it will be possible to raise enough for a second helicopter.

* An earlier version of this story said $1.4 million had been raised. Ths is the target for the fundraising, not the current total.