A CHARITY has raised more than half the cash needed for a life-saving heart machine.

The Amersham and Chesham Lions Club has donated £1,250 towards the £2,500 cost of a defibrillator which jolts the heart and normalises the pulse in the event of a heart attack.

The machine was given to Wycombe and District Doctors on Call (WYDDOC), which is a locally run GP co-operative.

The other half has been met by the British Heart Foundation.

A spokesman for the Lions said last week's Donkey Derby in Chesham helped raise funds.