RESIDENTS in and around Churchinford are celebrating after raising the final £800 needed to buy a defibrillator for the village.

Stephanie Westlake, manager of Hummingbird Care Home in the village, felt a defibrillator was needed.

Rather than wait until funds could be raised, Hummingbird Care went ahead and bought the £2,200 machine, while staff and villagers joined forces to raise monies to reimburse them.

Miss Westlake said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support shown by our wonderful staff and local residents.

“There have been coffee mornings, open gardens, cream tea afternoons, quizzes, jam, chutney, cards, cakes and jewellery sales.

"People have also given really generous donations towards the defibrillator - it's amazing what a community can achieve when they pull together.

"The defibrillator is kept in the foyer here at Hummingbird, which being a care home, means there’s access to it 24 hours a day.

"Our staff have all been trained how to use it and we recently held a successful training morning for 14 locals, so I think you could say we are now well-equipped to cover any eventuality.

"I'd like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone who has supported the cause – we couldn't have done it without them.”