Croydon Mayor Graham Bass has announced the two charities he will support during his year in office.

Councillor Bass has chosen to raise money for London's Air Ambulance and the Croydon Dyslexia Association.

London's Air Ambulance is the city's only helicopter emergency medical service, and provides pre-hospital care to victims of serious injury.

The unique service runs 24/7, with the helicopter operating in the day and rapid-response cars taking over at night.

The charity, which relies fully on charitable donations, attended 55 life-or-death missions in Croydon in 2010 alone.

The Croydon Dyslexia Association (CDA) is a charity run entirely by volunteers. The charity was set up in 1981, and provides information about dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties.

Membership is open to all for a annual fee, and there are currently more than 70 members including individuals, families, schools and professionals.

Money raised as one of the Mayor's nominated charities will be used to help set up a specialist training centre for students in nearby schools who have dyslexia.