FOOTBALL rivalries were put aside as Bolton Wanderers and Bury FC teamed up to help a primary school achieve its goal to buy a life-saving defibrillator

Wesley Methodist Primary School enlisted the help of the two teams to raise the money needed to buy a defibrillator for the school as part of Bolton Wanderers Hearts and Goals campaign to reduce deaths from sudden cardiac arrest.

The campaign has seen Bolton Wanderers Community Trust joining up with the North West Ambulance Service following Fabrice Muamba cardiac arrest on pitch in March 2012.

He would not have survived without the immediate use of a defibrillator and CPR.

The Radcliffe school has become the latest to sign up to the campaign — and so successful was the fundraiser that two defibrillators can now be bought — with one which will now be put in the community.

Businesses, including GM Buses got behind the campaign, donating money as well as luxury goods for the raffle while representatives from the two clubs raised awareness of the defibrillators and demonstrated how to use them and children were shown CPR techniques.

Deputy headteacher Peter Wood said: “We were thinking about raising money for a defibrillator and a parent approached us and asked if we would consider having a defibrillator in school.

“We had set a target for £800 and raised £2,060, which is a wonderful amount.

“People have been so generous.

“Parents were invited into school on the day and when we told them how much had been raised there was a gasp.

“The day was also about raising awareness.”

He added: “It does not stop here. We will send flyers to the community to tell where the defibrillator which they will have 24 hours access to is sited once we establish where it needs to go.

“The community will also know there will be a defibrillator at school.

“Other members staff who have not had training on the defibrillator will be trained up.”