LIFE-saving equipment has been installed outside a secondary school in Braintree.

The community now has access to an external defibrillator which has been placed at Alec Hunter Academy, in Stubbs Lane.

It was installed by the school with the help of the Braintree Fund, a charity set up to increase the number of defibrillators in the town.

The group was able to raise more than £600 through a range of events, including a sponsored cycle, craft events and a music concert at the school.

The new equipment was installed and unveiled during a ceremony on Monday.

Headteacher Trevor Lawn said: “I am so delighted that Alec Hunter Academy is able to host this defibrillator and therefore offer a valuable service to the community.

"We already had the defibrillator in school, since we do have students with serious heart conditions, and our staff have been trained to use the equipment.

"However, thanks to the initiative of our Governors, we explored the idea of making this available externally as well as internally, and with the support of the Braintree Fund, to whom we are very grateful, this has become a reality.

"We are proud to be leading the way with this collaborative project and hope that other schools, institutions and businesses will follow suit.”

Braintree Fund chairman Andrew Hensman said: “This is partnership working at its best, community working alongside education in this case, providing the first publicly accessible external defibrillator at a Braintree school.

“This is the fourth defibrillator we have helped to make available in the town. We are very proud to have achieved this with a great deal of public support. I look forward to installing more in further locations across the town in the near future.”

School governor Aidan Kelly said: "As a parent governor at Alec Hunter Academy I was asked to look at fundraising for a cabinet which would mean we had a publicly accessible defibrillator available 24 hours a day should the need arise.

"I want to say a massive thanks to the Braintree Fund for making this possible.

"Since then I've been working with them to fundraise for more defibrillators throughout the town.

"If anyone would like to donate they can visit our Justgiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/scottgilhooly"