HUNDREDS of families basked in the bank holiday sunshine while enjoying a fun day that raised more than £4,000 for life-saving defibrillators.

The event was held at Kearsley Cricket Club in Springfield Road on Easter Monday, with fairground rides, entertainment, music and stalls.

It was organised by Tracey Wilkinson, fundraising manager for Bolton ICD (Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator) Support Group.

She said: "The event was unbelievable. It's the first family fun day I have organised.

"It was a massive success. We had about 3,000 people attend.

"It's a massive field and a massive venue and it was packed."

Youngsters enjoyed meeting members of the emergency services, as well as volunteers from Bolton Mountain Rescue and St John Ambulance.

There was also a tombola, raffle, auction and games including crazy golf and beat the goalie.

Ms Wilkinson, originally from Kearsley but who now lives in Prestolee, set up the #defibs4bolton campaign in 2012 to equip schools and sports clubs with automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

The use of AEDs, alongside CPR, can increase the chance of survival for somebody who suffers a cardiac arrest by 40 per cent.

Ms Wilkinson said: "We have donated 64 to date and we put an order in last week for 23 more.

"On Monday, we raised £4,200 which will buy another seven defibrillators so that's 94 in total."

Ms Wilkinson became involved with Bolton ICD Support Group, which was set up in 2006, through her father, Mark Eden.

She said: "My dad was one of the founder members because he had an ICD.

"He passed away in 2008 and I got back involved in 2012 to help them raise some money.

"It was just a case of, 'we will raise a bit of money for a couple'.

"We didn't expect it to be this successful."

In February 2013, The Bolton News helped launch the Every School-Leaver a Lifesaver campaign in Bolton schools, aimed at teaching pupils what to do if someone is suffering cardiac arrest, choking or bleeding.

The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) launched a campaign in January, at the House of Commons, calling for it to be compulsory to place AEDs in all public places, and is striving to make it compulsory for school leavers to learn crucial life-saving skills such as CPR.