‘If it saves one life it has served its purpose’ - Dewsbury bowling club raising funds for community defibrillator after members’ attempts to save Leeds man

Mandy Hyde and Marcus Leach were representing Morton House, a crown green bowling club in Thornhill Lees, at a competition in Leeds six weeks ago when they were alerted to the serious medical emergency in one of the local houses.

However, despite the duo’s best efforts in administering CPR until the emergency services arrived, the man sadly passed away.

Now, the secretary of the club is leading a fundraising campaign for a defibrillator to be installed at the Lees Hall Road venue.

“We don’t have a defibrillator in the village,” said Paul Wright, 64. “There is no defibrillator in Thornhill Lees and there are a lot of elderly people that do crown green bowling at our club and there are a lot of elderly people around the village. But it can affect young people too. You just never know.

“So we want to get a defibrillator, sight it at our club, but make it available to the community. It is for the community. It is something which has come out of sad circumstances.

“You can’t put a cost on life. If it saves one life it has served its purpose.”

A defibrillator is a high-energy electric shock treatment device for people who suffer cardiac arrest and there are an estimated 100,000 of them located across the UK.

Research shows that the chances of a person surviving a cardiac arrest decreases by 10 per cent for every minute without access to a defibrillator.

The club has already raised £1,300 of its £2,200 target, with a Rod Stewart tribute act on Friday, July 21, sold out, in addition to a raffle.

“It’s a massive raffle with some good prizes donated like laptops and smart watches,” Mr Wright said, who is being assisted by treasurer Donna France and entertainments and events manager Amanda Carter. “The club has really rallied round. We are now reaching out to the community and businesses to see if they can help in any way.”

If you can help Morton House’s fundraising efforts, please email: [email protected]