Lifesaving equipment was presented to pupils and staff at a Croxley Green school.

Harvey Road Primary School was visited by representatives from national cardiac charity Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS) and the East of England Ambulance Service on Tuesday.

The Harvey Road school was given a defibrillator, which works to restore the heart rhythm if a person goes into cardiac arrest.

Nick Rowlands, headteacher, said: "Having a defibrillator means a great deal to everyone working at Harvey Road School.  It will enable us to support the many people who use the school facilities throughout the year, as well as during the summer term when our swimming pool is open. 

The school has carried out a number of fundraising activities to purchase the defibrillator and has received support from SADS and St Albans company, KDW Financial services.

Mr Rowlands added: "Although our children had raised a fantastic £600 towards a defibrillator through fund raising activities including the annual Family Fun Run, we would not have been able to receive this life saving equipment without the financial support of the charity SADS and on behalf of everyone associated with Harvey Road School I would like to thank them for their support."

Anne Jolly, founder of SADS UK, the Ashley Jolly SAD Trust, said: "SADS UK is pleased that Harvey Road School will benefit from having a defibrillator on the premises to restart the heart if there is a cardiac arrest on the premises. 

"Using CPR alone provides a five per cent chance of survival but using the defibrillator as well increases the chance of survival to over 50 per cent, this is why SADS UK is so passionate about putting this lifesaving equipment in place."