A FORMER Sopley Primary School returned to her old school to hand over a life-saving piece of equipment.

Emma Clark, who is also one of the local Bransgore Community First Responders, delivered the latest in automatic external defibrillators to pupils at the school.

The unit was donated by the first responders group, which also donated a cabinet for the defibrillator to be kept in.

The bright yellow box is located by the entrance to the school office and is accessible via the staff car park.

Ms Clark said : "The code to get the defibrillator will be given by the 999 ambulance call handler if the unit is needed by a local resident in an emergency, but the school will have immediate access should they need it. "

Bransgore group co-ordinator Mike Jukes said: "We are pleased that we can provide this to the school and also make it available should it be needed in this remote area.

"More than 250 people a day die from sudden cardiac arrest outside the hospital environment, yet with a defibrillator and CPR many of them could be saved.

"We hope the unit is never needed, but it is there should it be."

Executive headteacher Dan Twyman said, "As a school our overarching aim is to be a central part of the local community and we are very proud to be able to support such a worthwhile cause.

"Keeping our children safe is the school’s number one priority and this represents yet another way of achieving that goal."

The unpaid community responder volunteers attend 999 calls in their area and also offer advice and guidance to those thinking of purchasing a defibrillator.

The group is hoping to have another defibrillator installed in the Neacroft area in the coming weeks.

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) offers an app that is capable of telling anyone in the UK where their nearest automatic external defibrillator is, should they come across someone in cardiac arrest, and also guide them through how to carry out effective CPR or chest compressions.

The Save a Life app can be downloaded at scas.nhs.uk/news/campaigns/savealife.