Residents in Nuneaton have received a major boost in their bid to have a community defibrillator installed thanks to a donation from one of the UK's largest housebuilders.

Persimmon Homes North Midlands has awarded campaigners a £1,000 grant as they continue to support local groups and charities in the area.

Persimmon donates up to £64,000 a month to fund initiatives as part of the highly successful Community Champions scheme.

Locals have been raising money for an automated external defibrillator to be situated in the town centre and one of the potential sites backs on to Eaton Place, a collection of new homes from Persimmon.

Cormac Magee, fundraising organiser, said: “We’re over the moon to accept this generous donation, it means so much to be able to help and improve the local community.

“My wife, Sian, and I started raising money for an AED back in March because we wanted to raise awareness of how important it is to have access to this life saving equipment.

“The sudden collapse of Denmark footballer Christian Eriksen at the European Championships has highlighted just how important appropriate training and early intervention is to saving lives.

“In the 48 hours that followed we had a spike in donations because residents realised that our nearest public defibrillator isn’t close enough at the moment.”

AEDs are used in addition to CPR to save the lives of those suffering cardiac arrest. Research has shown that deploying a defibrillator within three to five minutes of collapse can produce survival rates as high as 50–70%.

Cormac added: “We have two potential sites that are accessible 24/7 to all local residents which is crucial in an emergency as we’ve all seen with recent events.  

“This additional £1,000 means that we’ve now reached our target which is absolutely incredible.”

Nadine O'Dowd, sales director at Persimmon Homes North Midlands, said: “We’re delighted to support Cormac and Sian in their bid to improve the local facilities in Nuneaton.

“We’re extremely passionate about the people and places where we build and when an opportunity arises to get involved with good causes such as this then we’re always keen to help.

“In this case we hope that the defibrillator never needs to be used but the peace of mind and additional safety benefits it will bring to residents is something that you cannot put a price on.”

For more information visit www.persimmonhomes.com, or to apply for Community Champions funding visit www.persimmonhomes.com/charity.