When a heart attack strikes every second counts, and a thriving North Yorkshire cricket club has taken steps to ensure they won’t be caught out should they ever need to take emergency action.

Northallerton Cricket Club has used a £500 grant from Broadacres plus support from the local council to help fund a defibrillator at their Farndale Avenue base

“There wasn’t a defibrillator within the recommended three minutes of the club, so the committee saw this as a priority,” said Coach and Social Club Committee member Vicky Bramma.

The cricket club currently has 14 teams and over 200 playing members. Ages range from 5 to over 70 with matches also attracting parents, grandparents and friends to watch. The clubhouse also acts as a social hub, opening for coffee mornings and other functions.

The defibrillator has been situated so that the adjoining tennis club and nearby residents can also have access to it.

“This will be an important safeguard not only for players but also anyone visiting the club and the nearby community,” said Vicky. “You never know when cardiac arrest might strike and it would be dreadful if a life was lost because we didn’t have a defibrillator close by.”

Volunteers from the club have stepped up for training on how to use the defib and maintain it and local company Logan Electris agreed to fit it for free.

The Broadacres Community Development Fund supports local organisations, groups, and projects in areas where Broadacres has homes. All grants are approved by the Association’s own residents via a voting scheme using tokens similar to how Tesco award grants in its stores.

To apply to the Fund visit the Community Development Fund grant page.