Castle Combe Colts have ensured that matchdays at the club’s home ground will be a safer experience for young footballers and spectators alike.
Colts, whose 300-strong membership includes children aged from four to 18, raised money for and installed a defibrillator at their Upper Castle Combe headquarters after learning of the cardiac arrest suffered by Bradford Town’s Quinton Barham during an under-14s match last year.
Trowbridge teenager Quinton was playing in the Mid-Wilts Youth & Minor League - in which a number of Colts teams also participate – at the time and made a miracle recovery following heart bypass surgery.
Having raised more than £1,000 by helping to marshal one of Castle Combe Circuit’s monthly car boot sales last year, Colts were the first organisation to commit the subsidised funds and take delivery of the life-saving technology after the South Western Ambulance Service Trust initiated a scheme in March 2014.
They were tipped off about the project - which has since delivered a further 110 machines across the country - by Alison Butler of the Chippenham Area Partnership.
Colts secretary Trevor Newman said: “We felt we needed to make the significant investment following the incident involving a young player in the same youth league that the Colts play in.
“That showed that you can never be complacent when it comes to first aid support. Although we obviously hope that we never have to use the defibrillator at all, it is good to know it is there.”
Last week, 12 coaches and committee members from the club underwent training delivered by the South Western Ambulance Service Trust at Chippenham’s ambulance station, again the first to do so under the scheme.
It was carried out by Julia Doel and David Wilmot, whose support throughout the process has been invaluable to the club.