Trefeglwys has a new defibrillator thanks to money raised by a local shooting club.

Coed-Y-Sarnau Gun Club, based at Mid Wales Shooting Centre, has raised £1,500 to buy the life-saving equipment.

The club was presented with its new machine by Wales Hearts charity representative Liz Evans on July 21.

The defibrillator, which is based in a special case at Mid Wales Shooting Centre, is the only machine in the village.

The machine is not accessible 24 hours-a-day but can be accessed by the public during opening hours.

Over the last 10 years, Coed-Y-Sarnau Gun Club members have donated more than £15,000 to local charities and good causes.

A Mid Wales Shooting Centre spokesperson said: “We are very grateful for Coed-Y-Sarnau Gun Club’s support with this donation of the £1,500 equipment and training.

“If it can help save a life then it will be worthwhile.”

Welsh Hearts, the leading heart charity in Wales, has placed more than 1,200 machines and taught 42,000 people basic life support skills in the last five years.

Every year around 8,000 people will have an ‘out of hospital’ cardiac arrest, says the charity.

The defibrillator is designed to be used by the public, and has audio and visual prompts that instruct the rescuer what to do in an emergency. 

“Wales has one of the lowest survival rates in Europe at only 3%,” said a spokesperson for Welsh Hearts.

“It is paramount to patient survival that members of the public learn these skills and act quickly.

“If immediate CPR is commenced and a defibrillator is available, survival chance increases to over 50%. It is so sad that lives are lost because members of our communities do not have the confidence or skills to act.”

The charity has qualified trainers delivering ‘First on Scene’ emergency training which includes how to check if a casualty is breathing, performing CPR and how to use a public access defibrillator.

There will be a training session open to the public at Mid Wales Shooting Centre in the near future.