CHILDREN, teachers and parents at Heddon First School have joined forces to fund-raise for their own defibrillator.

The life-saving equipment was presented to the school by charity North-East Hearts with Goals, which has raised funds for 140 defibrillators to be placed at sites across the North-East.

And the Friends of Heddon School group has dipped into its reserves to contribute £777 towards the cost.

The decision to place the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in the school building came after school governor Gordon Stewart approached head teacher Andrew Wheatley with the idea.

Mr Wheatley said: “I thought it was a fantastic idea. These defibrillators can be the difference between life and death.”

Chairman of the Friends of Heddon School Kathryn Nicholson added: “It isn’t just for the children and teachers.

“It’s for everyone who comes to the school – visitors, parents and grandparents – it’s important for all of these people.

“We have funds already raised that we can put towards it and we’re also going to throw a disco on October 16.”

The defibrillator, which has settings for children to use, will be placed in a case inside the school building.

However, the school has said that outside of term time, the defibrillator will be accessible to the local community.

Christine Stephenson, who founded North-East Hearts with Goals in 2013, said: “There should be a defib in every school.

“Cardiac arrest kills 15 children every week in the UK and it doesn’t discriminate against age or gender.”

Hexham MP Guy Opperman attended the presentation and backed all campaigns to make public access defibrillators available across Tynedale.

He said: “This defibrillator will save lives and it’s a good example of a community really pulling together.

“Each campaign is doing a really important thing, but in a different way.

“But the most important thing is to get defibrillators out there, and local communities can lead that.

“The more that happens, the more those communities have ownership of health outcomes in their area.”

The Courant’s Heart of Gold campaign is working with the Stephen Carey Fund to raise £10,000 to place defibrillators at as many public buildings in Tynedale as possible.

To date, with generous support from community groups, businesses and individuals across the district, the campaign total stands at £5,680.25.

If your community is interested in hosting a public access defibrillator, email our chief reporter Gemma Brown on gemma.brown@hexham courant.co.uk.

And if you can help us reach our target by pledging a pound to help start a heart, you can do so online at www.hexhamcourant.co.uk/heartofgold