Shepshed Bowls Club has raised the money for the vital life-saving equipment to be installed on the wall of its clubhouse, in Charnwood Road.

It has also gained funding for the project from Shepshed Lions, Shepshed Rotary Club and local charity the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust (JHMT), which provided the cash for an external defibrillator cabinet so that the equipment could be installed in a location that will be publicly-accessible, 24 hours a day.

In the event of a cardiac emergency, anyone can call 999 and ask call handlers to help them access the defibrillator.

To help club members familiarise themselves with the equipment, training has also been provided in using a defibrillator and administering CPR. Training was provided by Shepshed Lions First Responders, and saw 13 club members trained, with a further training session planned in for next April.

John Carrington, men's secretary at Shepshed Bowls Club, said: "Our sport tends to attract more mature participants and we were concerned to discover that the nearest public-access defibrillator to our club was almost 500 metres away.

"So, in April of this year, we decided to raise money for our own defibrillator, which we wanted to be accessible to the community 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"We agreed the unit would be installed on the outside of our clubhouse, and it's great to now have it in place. We're very grateful to all of the charities and community organisations that have supported us in getting our club members trained and getting this vital piece of equipment in place, where it can benefit the whole community."

Charles Poole from the JHMT, who helped organise the supply and delivery of the outside cabinet in which the defibrillator is kept, said: "This is another example of local people getting together, identifying an urgent need for life-saving equipment in their community and working in partnership to make easy access to defibrillators a reality.

"We congratulate Shepshed Town Bowls Club on their fantastic efforts to raise funds for this project and we're delighted to provide the cabinet so that, if someone has a cardiac arrest in the area, the emergency 999 call to East Midlands Ambulance Service will give those on hand swift access to the defibrillator."

The bowls club currently has 74 playing members and has always had success in county competitions, with many players representing Leicestershire. Last year, one of Shepshed's female members was national champion in the England Bowls Women's Senior Pairs.