Bere Alston Youth United FC have secured a new defibrillator for use in the village through fundraising efforts.

Working in conjunction with Jay’s Aim and the Adam Stansfield Foundation, the club’s U14s and U11s have helped to acquire this vital piece of lifesaving equipment, which is now stationed on the football pavilion wall.

‘This is a brilliant legacy to the village from the children,’ said chairman Jason Palmer. ‘We are always keen for the club to be community minded by getting involved with local activities or regular fundraising for charities but this is certainly one of the club’s proudest moments.’

As a great deal of sport is played in the village, the need for a defibrillator had been a prominent issue discussed by the club executive and committee for some time. They liased with the parish council in trying to secure one but when the pandemic hit, many group and sporting activities were suspended, which meant plans were unfortunately put on a back-burner. The defibrillator is for the whole community’s use and is registered with The Circuit - the national defibrillator network which connects defibrillator to NHS ambulance services. The village air ambulance landing site is at the recreational field, and this adds an extra blanket of support for medical intervention in the village.

Jason’s sentiment was followed up by club secretary Steve Daymond, who said: ‘The field is popular with sports such as football, the children’s play park and bike ramps. It sees a high volume of walkers, dog walkers, runners and horse riders. We wanted to ensure the defibrillator was placed in a well-used area in order to make the community as safe as possible.’

In the New Year, the club are planning to link back with Jay’s Aim once again to provide free CPR and life-saving support lessons to the public.

Steve said: ‘From the point someone has cardiac arrest, every minute decreases their chance of survival by 10%, so the more people who have the skills the better. We’re currently trying to hire the parish hall and aim to get 80 people trained in life saving skills. What’s more, this is something for the whole community and people of all ages. Youngsters from the club will be joining in as well.’

The club have previously run a great deal of fundraising initiatives, which have involved helping children’s wards at Derriford Hospital, the Ronald McDonald House in Bristol and local individuals with illnesses.

The club has more fundraising plans for the near future, including charity events and matches which were initially planned for earlier in the year. They hope these will now take place in the summer. ‘Covid may have temporarily scuppered things but football will always draw people in, which means we can use it to help the community as a driver for improvement,’ said Steve.

The football club express their thanks to Jay’s Aim and the Adam Stansfield Foundation, without whose efforts securing the defibrillator would not have been as easy.