THE fundraising efforts of children at Pensby Primary School have led to installation of a lifesaving defibrillator at a nearby church.

Pupils had decided do something for the community by raising funds for a local good cause nominated St Michael's & All Angels Pensby and Christ Church Barnston as the beneficiary.

Their fundraising work raised £561 which was put to the defibrillator costs.

One of the machines has now been installed at St Michaels, with the other going to Christ church Barnston at a later date.

Chris Murphy, the two churches' associate minister, told the Globe: "Because of the good relationship Pensby Primary School has with us, they thought we would be a good community charity to nominate.

"We thought, given that the money has come from the community, it would be good to invest it back into the community.

"We thought a defibrillator was a good piece of equipment that would be of use to people much more widely than just the church.

"There are people who maybe need a defibrillator and can’t get to hospital in time or the ambulance can’t get out to them in time. Just having this as a stop-gap could, potentially, save lives. Hopefully it will never have to be used."

A defibrillator is used to shock someone suffering cardiac arrest but the equipment is programmed to only deliver a shock to someone that needs it Using CPR alone provides a 5% chance of survival but using the defibrillator as well increases the chance of survival to more than 50%.

Bob Fiddaman, church warden at St Michael's added: "We are keen for the children at Pensby Primary to get the credit for pushing the idea forward.

"Our hall is used by all ages – from toddlers through to senior citizens – so it will be useful to have, hopefully never to use."

John Putman, children's, youth and family worker at the church said: "It's a really good news story.

"We've been involved with supporting a couple of the local schools in the way they teach Christianity and so we've built up a good relationship. A couple of the group are members of the church too.

"The pupils will see the defibrillator through the church window and be reassured to know that they are being used to save lives in the local community."