A NEW estate in Cinderford has a potentially life-saving defibrillator on its doorsteps thanks to the efforts of local schoolchildren.

But not only did pupils at St Whites Primary School manage to raise the £1,400 for the machine, they were also able to send £400 to the charity which helps local communities install defibrillators.

Headteacher Claire Tilling says she is “immensely proud” of her pupils who smashed a fund-raising target to provide a heart defibrillator for the school and local community.

Pupils at St Whites Primary School in Cinderford cycled the equivalent of riding to Scotland using spin bikes outside their classrooms.

They also baked cakes, sold badges made with the help of a parent and wore red for the day.

The project was led by a group of Year Six pupils who also wrote to the school’s governors and the British Heart Foundation after finding out about how having a defibrillator can greatly increase the chances of survival for someone in cardiac arrest.

The group unveiled the defibrillator outside the school which will also be available to be used by people on the 350-home Sneyd Wood estate – previously the nearest was at the Co-op in the town centre.

The school worked with charity London Hearts, who help local communities to install defibrillators, and had been hoping to raise the £1,400 needed for the life-saving piece of tech – but the children worked so hard that they eventually raised £1,800 and now the ‘extra’ will go to help other communities get access to the machines.

Mr Luke Jones, who worked with the project group, said: “We can give the money to London Hearts so they can help other people get defibrillators.”

Mrs Tilling said: “We’re immensely proud of the work that you’ve done.”