MEMBERS of a Kearsley club were bowled over to receive a life-saving defibrillator from the Mayor and Mayoress of Bolton, Cllr Colin Shaw, and Mrs Dee Shaw.

The Kearsley Park Veterans Bowling Club received a grant from Bolton CVS to buy the defibrillator and members of North West Ambulance Service, Bolton Wanderers Community Trust, Bolton CVS and Lancashire County Crown Green Bowling were on hand to mark the occasion.

The club has more than 60 players using two greens and range in age from 60 to 90-plus.

Club president Edith Wadley thanked all those involved in getting the defibrillator and said how pleased members were to receive it.

She added: “If we can save lives, it’s worth all the time we have spent learning all about the great advantage of having a defibrillator avail-able.” The Bolton News and Bolton West MP Julie Hilling joined forces to promote the teaching of emergency life-saving skills.

The Every School Leaver a Lifesaver campaign has the aim of ensuring every pupil in Bolton leaves school knowing how to save a life by taking part in a simple two-hour course that teaches people how to deal with the most common life-threatening emergency situations, such as cardiac arrest, bleeding and choking.

As a secondary aim, the campaign would like every school in Bolton, and other public places, to have a defibrillator — the life-saving device that can be used to restart the heart when someone suffers a cardiac arrest.

The campaign is also supporting the Hearts and Goals campaign, which is being promoted by former Bolton Wanderers star Fabrice Muamba, who was revived after collapsing on the pitch in an FA Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur last year.

l Any school wanting to sign up to the Every School Leaver a Lifesaver campaign and teach pupils how to save a life should email reporter Charlotte Dobson at charlotte.dobson@theboltonnews.co.uk to help arrange Heartstart training.