A DEFIBRILLATOR has been installed at Ruskin Drive Sports Village through donations from sports clubs.

The defibrillator and exterior cabinet were paid for by donations from Stephen Palfrey from Pilkington FC and Ruskin Drive Sports Ground, Sam Dodd from Ruskin Tennis Club, Brian Hatton from Pilkington Recs ARLFC and Paul Owen from Ruskin Park RUFC. A plaque has also been installed next to the defibrillator cabinet, which is a tribute to Kenny Hatton, a friend of Pilkington Recs ARLFC, who died in the summer.

The defibrillator is situated on the new changing rooms in a central location, will serve as an important safety asset for the sports teams that play Ruskin Drive Sports Village.

Brian Hatton, from Pilkington Recs A.R.L.F.C, said: “We’re very happy to have a public access life-saving defibrillator installed at Ruskin Sports Village. Although we hope it never has to be used, the installation of the life-saving device will make it a safer place for sportsmen and local people”.

Members of the sports teams and residents will be trained in how to use the device by the North-West Ambulance Service (NWAS).

Eccleston councillor Michael Haw, who actively campaigns for defibrillators to be installed since his cousin Chris Haw's death aged 25 of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS), said: “The public access defibrillator will serve as an important safety asset for Ruskin Drive Sports Village, as medical help is not always on hand in an emergency, so having quick access to a defibrillator can make all the difference”.

According to the British Heart Foundation, 60,000 people die every year in the UK from cardiac arrest and survival chances for cardiac arrest victims reduce by ten per cent for every minute without CPR and defibrillation.