GENEROUS Courant readers, businesses, local councillors and community groups have raised more than £9,400 to help provide live-saving Public Access Defibrillators across Tynedale.

More than a year after the Heart of Gold campaign was launched to help inspirational volunteers at Northumberland charity The Stephen Carey Fund expand their work across the county, four defibrillators are now on hand in towns and villages 24 hours a day.

Meanwhile, scores of others have been funded and installed by groups who have chosen to deal directly with the charity to make their community a safer place to live.

Designed to deliver a high-energy electric shock to the heart in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest, the Public Access Defibrillators are installed outside community buildings and registered with theNorth-East Ambulance Service.

The service has a record of a unique access code which is provided by the call handler in the event of a 999 emergency situation.

Statistics from the British Heart Foundation show that over 30,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospital in the UK every year, but less than one in ten survive.

For every minute without CPR and defibrillation, a person’s chance of survival decreases by around 10 per cent.

Thanks to donations to the Heart of Gold appeal, the machines, which cost around £2,000, have now been installed in Otterburn, Hexham, Barrasford and Acomb, with cash left over to help fund a fifth installation in the Tyne Valley.

Among the villages with machines already in place are Stocksfield, Riding Mill, Bardon Mill, Wall, Humshaugh, Tarset and Ponteland, with installations planned in Catton, Birtley, Hedley on the Hill, Corbridge and Newbrough.

Hexham Courant editor Colin Tapping paid tribute to everyone who has supported the campaign as it draws to a close.

“The community spirit and generosity shown by everyone who has supported the Heart of Gold appeal has been wonderful to witness,” he said.

“The life-saving legacy created is something for the whole district to be proud of.”

The Stephen Carey Fund was established in North Northumberland just over three years ago in memory of a 21-year-old footballer who tragically died after collapsing on the pitch.

His story hit home in Tynedale last year when Otterburn’s Adam Stephen (18) miraculously survived a sudden cardiac arrest during a football match when off-duty medics rushed to his aid with a defibrillator.

This inspired the partnership between The Courant and the charity with the collective aim to raise awareness and funds through Heart of Gold.

David Wilson, a trustee of the charity, said: “In just over three years, 76 defibrillators sees our yearly average at around 25 cabinets, and whilst we are only at the end of the second month in our fourth year, we are already involved with various groups for 27 further potential placements.

“The installation of these defibs is a real milestone for the Tyne Valley and the Stephen Carey Fund.”

The final donation to the Heart of Gold appeal came from Rotarians and Inner Wheel members from across Tynedale, who joined forces to raise almost £700.

Not content with raising £370 in a collaborative street collection in Hexham last summer, members of the Tynedale, Hexham and Hadrian’s Wall Rotary Clubs joined forces with the Hexham and Tynedale Inner Wheel to host a race night at Hexham Golf Club last month.

David Robertson, chairman of the Rotary Club of Tynedale’s social committee, said: “This was a collaborative thing for all the clubs involved and it’s something I think we’d all perhaps like to do more often.

“Rotary and Inner Wheel are all about promoting a sense of friendship and community, so we were more than happy to support the Heart of Gold appeal.”

Sixty people turned out for the seven-race event which was hosted by Ian Darling and auctioneer Drew Patrick.

The donation takes the total raised through the Heart of Gold campaign to £9,408.50p and comes just as supermarket giant Tesco announced it would be introducing defibrillators in over 900 of its largest stores – including Hexham.