HEXHAM is becoming more prepared for sudden cases of cardiac arrest with the addition of two new defibrillators.

One has been installed outside of Hexham Community Centre, while another is due to be placed at the Sele First School.

It has been possible thanks to funding from the Danny Jones Defibrillator Fund, formed after Danny Jones, a Keighley Cougars and Wales international rugby player, collapsed and died from an undiagnosed heart condition.

His wife, singer Lizzie Jones, raises money to help provide more of the life-saving devices throughout the country.

Defibrillators give a high-energy electric shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest.

The fund has provided a grant for the defibrillator at the community centre, while it has part-funded the one at the Sele First School – with the remainder being funded by the school’s PTA.

Steve Ball, chairman of Hexham Community Centre, said: “The community centre is used by a number of user groups that may be more susceptible to needing to use a defibrillator.

“All you have to do is ring the number and they give you the code. I think it will be a valuable facility for the community centre to have, in case it is ever needed.”