HAVING pledged its support to Welsh Hearts as its charity of the year, a local law firm has installed a defibrillator in Fishguard town centre.

Councillor Pat Davies, received the lifesaving equipment on behalf of the town, last week.

JCP Solicitors’ Staff Community Group chose Welsh Hearts as its charity of the year back in July 2018 – with the intention of enabling the charity to install a defibrillator within each of the nine communities where JCP has an office.

In Pembrokeshire it has now donated and installed one outside Fishguard Town Hall, with another installed earlier this year in Haverfordwest.

Welsh Hearts has placed more than 1,300 defibrillators in public and communal spaces – from rugby grounds and pubs, to libraries and churches - within communities across Wales, in a drive to safeguard people at risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease.

Over the past seven months JCP has organised a host of fundraising events, including raffles and social get-togethers, with prizes donated from local businesses. The Welsh Hearts fundraising drive has been very much a local affair.

Carole Cotton, Legal Advisor in Residential Conveyancing at JCP Solicitors, and a Fishguard resident, said: “We are very pleased to see the first new defibrillator being installed in Fishguard, in support of the work carried out by Welsh Hearts. As a community-based business we are happy to get behind this great charity.”

Cardiovascular disease accounts for a third of all deaths in Wales, where the death rate is higher than in the majority of countries in Western Europe. And Welsh Hearts is the leading heart charity in Wales for siting defibrillators in communities and delivering CPR and defibrillator training.

Any members of the public who wish to receive training from Welsh Hearts on how to use the equipment should register their interest with JCP Solicitors on fishguard@jcpsolicitors.co.uk

For more details about Welsh Hearts go to: welshhearts.org