FIVE schools are to be made heart safe with new life-saving defibrillators — thanks to the Journal.

Our parent company the Gannett Foundation has awarded a £5,000 grant to the Hand on Heart charity which is spending the money on putting the machines into local schools.

Hand on Heart is a national charity that strives to provide schools with defibrillators and the relevant training to use them in order to reduce the number of children who die from sudden cardiac arrest.

The charity has already made Salford 'heart safe' and is now turning its attention to Leigh and Wigan.

Lesley Groome, fundraising coordinator at Hand on Heart, said the schools, which will be chosen with the help of the Journal, would benefit greatly from the equipment.

She said: "Five schools will get a full package which is great and we are just deciding how to choose the schools.

"Hopefully with this funding we will have the same success in Wigan and Leigh as we have had in Salford. We heard about the grant at Christmas so it was a really lovely way to end the year."

Not only does the charity want to provide the defibrillators but it also wants to provide both staff and pupils with basic life skills and the training to use them.

"The most important statistic for us is that 270 children every year lose their lives while at school from sudden cardiac arrest. Although 12 young (age 12 to 25) people die a week as consequence of it, it is the 270 we want to try and reduce," said Lesley.

"With sudden cardiac arrest you don't know it's going to happen. Someone could just be walking along the corridor and collapse unconscious on the floor and stop breathing.

"Having a defibrillator on site and people able to administer that shock in the first three minutes could change the outcome.

"We also want to raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest. the thought of having 270 grieving parents is terrible and something we want to stop from happening by not only providing the defibrillators but also giving staff and pupils the understanding of how important their actions could be and providing basic life skills."

Hand on Heart is now looking for five schools, which don't already have the equipment, to receive the defibrillator and training. If your school wants to be made heart safe, please send 200 words on why you think it will help to newsdesk@leighjournal.co.uk by the end of January.

The charity is also looking for businesses to help fund the equipment for other schools in the borough. Anyone interested should contact Lesley on 0845 071 0822 or lesley@handonheart.org.

Hand on Heart has issued the following guidance to schools wishing to apply:

"The chances are you haven't had a cardiac arrest, know anyone who has suffered from one or you don't know if one of the pupils at your school has a pre-existing congenital heart problem. That means that you, like the rest of us, don't know when you may need a defibrillator; this is what makes having a defibrillator on site imperative to all schools. 

"Unfortunately 270 young people die in school every year from Sudden Cardiac Arrest. For every minute that someone is in cardiac arrest their chance of survival drops by about 10%, the time spent waiting for an ambulance could be spent administrating a defibrillator shock, which if given in the first 3-5 minutes after suffering from cardiac arrest, increases chance of survival to an incredible 74%.

"To get involved you simply need to nominate your school and tell us, in  a minimum of 200 words, why you think your school deserves to win a free defibrillator package.

"Maybe you have been unfortunate and had a Sudden Cardiac Arrest at your school already, or perhaps a child at your school has a pre-existing congenital heart problem."