A CALDICOT primary school is now a possessor of a state-of-the-art defibrillator thanks to donations from local families and friends.

More than £500 was raised at Durand Primary School's Christmas concerts, and a further substantial individual contribution, enabled the school to purchase a Zoll AED Plus defibrillator.

The purchase of the defibrillator includes on-going support, registration with the Welsh Ambulance Service and free training sessions for staff, the community and year six pupils.

And the new facility will also be available for community use so members of the public can access it.

The school received support for the project from Cariad, a registered charity set up to raise funding for defibrillators and life-saving training.

It will now work with Cariad to loan the defibrillator to other premises outside term time.

Head teacher Allison Waters said: “We decided to raise funds after staff attending First Aid at Work courses discovered that the swift application of a defibrillator provides a much higher chance of surviving cardiac arrest.

“Defibrillators can play a vital role in saving the lives of pupils, staff and other members of the community so we’re extremely grateful to those who have helped the school provide a lifeline for people in need.”