RUGBY TOWN: Valley boost life-saving capacity at Butlin Road

Director Mike Yeats with Paul Mulvey (WEL Medical), Liam ONeill (Academy Manager) and Joe ONeill (Academy Coach) PICTURES BY MARTIN PULLEY

Rugby Town have significantly enhanced their life-saving capabilities following last week's presentation of a new defibrillator to the club.

Having already doubled their capacity recently with the purchase of a new unit in support of a British Heart Foundation and Football Association backed initiative, Town were consequently entered into a draw for the award-winning iPAD SP1 defibrillator and they were selected as one of the lucky winners for this.

The FA 'HeartSafe Clubs' programme was launched last year to encourage all grassroots clubs to invest in life-saving equipment, and their strategic partner in this WEL Medical are a leading provider of innovative products for the pre-hospital and emergency services sector.

Rugby Town director Mike Yeats and Academy Manager Liam O'Neill with the new defibrillator

WEL Medical's Paul Mulvey visited Valley's Butlin Road stadium to hand over the prize, and he met up with members of the club's thriving Football Academy - where this latest unit will be located.

Town Director Mike Yeats welcomed Paul to the facility and accepted the defibrillator on behalf of the club.

Mike said: "We felt it was very important that we should back this excellent initiative and therefore invested in a unit for the main grandstand - to complement the one we already had in the clubhouse.

"We were then delighted to have been selected for the iPad SP1 model too, and this will enable us to provide extended coverage for the other side of the ground and most specifically for our rapidly expanding academy."

Academy players Matt Costa and Lee Padmore, with Academy Coach Joe O'Neill (centre) at the defibrillator presentation

The iPAD SP1 defibrillator is an award-winning design and its simplicity of use also makes it the unit of choice by many national sports organisations and emergency services and it is placed throughout communities across the UK.

Over 60,000 people suffer a sudden cardiac arrest each year and it can strike anyone, regardless of age or fitness level. There have been many high-profile footballing figures, such as former England manager Glenn Hoddle, who have survived a sudden cardiac arrest, but what does not always hit the headlines is that 14 young people are also struck down each week.

Paul is WEL's National Sales Manager and he explained: "The FA initiative is vital in raising awareness of the importance of having a life-saving defibrillator because performing CPR alone may not be enough to save a life. The chance of survival drops by 10 percent for every minute lost without the use of a defibrillator."

Thanking the company for their timely and generous gesture, Mike concluded: "We are now able to provide full strategic cover for the senior, academy, junior and girls' sections at the club - both in the stadium and on the training pitches, and also ensure that life-saving devices are available for all spectators and other visitors from the community using the ground and its facilities."

All grassroots clubs in England can apply for a defibrillator via the dedicated website www.footballdefibs.org