A £30,000 fund raising initiative from Canterbury Rugby Club will see all its teams and age groups provided with life saving defibrillator equipment.

The club passed its fund raising target in May and is acquiring 24 defibrillators from London Hearts, the UK’s leading defibrillator charity.

After hearing about a tragedy in the local community the club set about raising money including the auction of 15 Canterbury Bears dressed in club shirts.

The defibrillators are a vital part of treatment of people suffering cardiac arrest. With the effective and speedy delivery of treatment the chances of survival can be raised to 70%, but this requires CPR and the use of a defibrillator.

Survival chances decrease 10% every minute after a cardiac arrest, so the faster help can be given the better the outcome, meaning that having over 20 defibrillators at the club could make a real impact on people’s lives in the wider community.

Such was the success of Canterbury’s fundraising, they have also secured money for enough batteries and extras to completely replenish their defibrillators in three years time.

In addition, and thanks to a generous donation from Dave Thompson, Managing Director of the club’s principal sponsor Marine Travel, the club will be offering the 260 club members in the vulnerable category (aged 14-35) a free heart scan in November this year.

The scan usually costs the individual £50 and is key to spotting the signs of heart disease.

Giles Hilton, Chair of Canterbury Rugby Club said: “I am proud of the efforts of our club in raising this incredible amount of money. Having this many defibrillators at the club and therefore in the community could make all the difference to someone, and that makes it all worth it.”

The members of Canterbury Rugby Club are no strangers to raising money, having contributed over £100,000 for good causes, from the Ukrainian appeal to Cancer Research, in the last year alone.