A Swansea-based town council has secured lottery funding to purchase lifesaving equipment for the community, which will make a total of 26 defibrillators inside a three mile radius

Pontarddulais Town Council has followed the footsteps of the nearby Hendy and Communities Parks Committee and has gained funding to purchase four lifesaving defibrillators for the village.

The clerk of the town council has announced that the new councillors elected following last week’s election will be meeting to decide where to locate the new defibrillators.

Parks Committee trustee Steve Lloyd-janes, who helped secure the lottery funding for the Hendy side of the border, has welcomed the news that extra lifesaving defibrillators will be coming to the local community.

Mr Lloyd-janes said: “I was pleased this week that Fire-ex installed a specialist heated external box at the Fforest Post Office which brought this defibrillator into 24 hour 7 day a week service.”

“There are currently 22 defibrillators in the community within a three mile radius of Hendy and a further four could help make the difference at the time of an emergency between someone's life and death.”

Over the last 18 months many local individuals and groups in both Hendy and Pontarddulais have successfully raised money to purchase Life Saving Defibrillators, with the help of Anthony and his wife Sherilyn Hamilton-Shaw, who have set up a charity called My Cariad, to raise the necessary funding to provide local schools and communities with defibrillators and lifesaving training.

After attending the carnival last year with a stall and a first aid response vehicle, My Cariad are proud to support the carnival again this year.

As well as having fixed located defibrillators there are also some machines in the area used as floaters kept by key individuals who carry them around when working with community groups

“Pontarddulais Male Voice choir own a floater which it is kept by the group’s secretary who is also a physio for the Pontarddulais rugby team and the carnival committee chairman,” said Mr Lloyd-janes.

“Hendy Football club also keep a floater which travels between the changing rooms at Hendy pitch and the Muga in the park and is kept and carried by the coaches to be used in an emergency during training or games.”

To find out where you nearest defibrillator is located or for further information regarding defibrillators visit mycariad.org.