TWO Whitefield schools have been presented with lifesaving heart defibrillators.

Elms Bank High School and Ribble Drive Primary are the latest schools in the borough to benefit from the Defibs4Bury campaign.

Last year, St Paul's Primary School in Bury became the first in the area to receive the equipment.

Masterminding the Defibs4Bury campaign is Bolton Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator (ICD) Support Group which was launched in 2008, and has already presented heart defibrillators to more than 30 schools and sports clubs in its home town.

The Bury scheme was launched more than a year ago due to ongoing fundraising by the group.

Mrs Laura Taylor, who helped set up the Bury campaign, said: "Elms Bank and Ribble Drive now have defibrillators donated from the campaign and we are currently fundraising to purchase a defibrillator for Greenhill Primary School in Bury.

"We have eight other schools and sports clubs in the local area awaiting donations and we continually putting on events and fundraising activities to raise money for this equipment. The group is run fully by volunteers, so that every penny raised goes towards purchasing the equipment for the benefit of the local community."

She continued: "There are approximately 60,000 cardiac arrests in the UK every year and almost half of these occur out of a hospital. The survival rate of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is currently around 10 per cent without a defibrillator and 50 per cent when a defib is present and used.

"We provide free of charge training to any local schools or groups who require it and have done numerous assemblies in schools to raise awareness of the importance of CPR and defibrillation."