TWO Bolton organisations have been honoured for installing potentially life saving defibrillators.

Bolton Wanderers Community Trust and Bolton Arena both received awards at the North West Ambulance Service's bi annual CardiacSmart award ceremony.

The awards celebrates the work of organisations who have dedicated time to raising awareness of heart health, basic life support and defibrillators.

Whites' Community Trust was given the gold award, after installing two defibrillators on-site, helping to place 37 defibrillators within the community, having eight trainers within the organisation, and training 350 members of the local community in the last year.

Bolton Arena was given the silver award, after having one defibrillator on site, 44 members of staff being trained in how to use it and having three trainers within the organisation.

The awards see winners being recognised with given bronze, silver or gold awards, with individual awards also handed out for those who have made outstanding efforts to save the life of a person suffering a cardiac arrest.

Bob Williams, chief executive of NWAS, said: “The CardiacSmart Award encourages people to take action and save the lives of people who suffer from a cardiac arrest in the community.

"I am delighted to publicly recognise all those who are working for safe and healthy communities – where we all want to live and work."

Other organisations to be recognised at the event, held at Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park, were Wigan Council, nursery provider Kids Allowed, the University of Manchester and Powerleague Fives Ltd.

A life saver award was also handed out at the event, which was won by Tony Harrison and Matt Fryer, firefighters from Wythenshawe who saved the life of one of their colleagues who had collapsed after suffering from a cardiac arrest, using a defibrillator.

CardiacSmart is a partnership between NWAS and the British Heart Foundation, which aims to compliment the ambulance service's emergency resources to reduce death from cardiac arrest in the community.

The scheme aims to increase the number of people in the region who can provide basic emergency life support and use an automated external defibrillator.