A CHARITY donation will help potential lifesaving defibrillators to be installed in the county.

The Four Acre Trust is donating £50,000 towards buying additional automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for rural areas of Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

The funding could see an extra 100 AED's being available to the public to use if someone suffers a cardiac arrest.

Chairman of trustees for the Four Acre Trust, John Bothamley, said: “We generally support charities that give individuals, mainly children and young people, help in making the most of their lives.

“What better way can we help those children, their parents and friends than by helping them to save a life.

“We are here to inspire local communities who have been thinking about getting a defibrillator, to get on and do it."

To qualify for a defibrillator, communities need to raise half of the £1,000 required to install a defibrillator with Four Acre Trust paying the rest.

A cardiac arrest is when the heart stops beating, with the number of AED's increasing the chances of survival by helping the heart to start beating again.

When a community comes up with the funding, they should apply to the Hereford and Worcester Community First Responder (HWCFR) Charity who will arrange for the AED to be placed in a box where it can be accessed 24 hours a day.

HWCFR charity trustee, Sue Watkins, said: “Not only will we help the community to install the defib, we will work with West Midlands Ambulance Service to train local people in its use.

"However, people should remember that you do not need to have had any training to use one.

“There are so many examples of where having a defib in a rural community has made the difference between life and death."

West Mercia Community Response Manager, Cliff Medlicott, added: “For every minute after the heart stop beatings, your chance of survival drops by 10% so you can see how important it is that we get more defibs out into the rural communities."

Any community or group that would like to take up the offer, contact Sue Watkins at sue.watkins2016@gmail.com