A GROUND-BREAKING piece of technology which has been designed to save lives in remote areas has been installed on a community golf course.

Silecroft Golf Club proudly unveiled a new defibrillator earlier this week after raising thousands of pounds in just six months.

This defibrillator is completely unique and is thought to be the world’s first wind and solar-powered device.

The club has spent months raising money for this remarkable piece of kit as part of a campaign spearheaded by former club captain, Ken Leece.

He said: “I was captain last year and the captain always puts forward a cause. We already do a lot for cancer charities so thought this was something a bit different.

“I looked at the age profile of the club and it’s going up. Also, a few years ago we had a fatality on the course and, more recently, a member collapsed and we had to call an ambulance which took an hour to get here.”

After settling on the idea of installing a defibrillator at the club house, Mr Leece then contacted Lauren Watson, from the North West Ambulance Service, who suggested putting a second cabinet at the far end of the course.

However, without a power source, this idea looked to be impossible until Green Urban, an engineering firm from Penrith, stepped in with a game-changing piece of equipment.

George Slater, engineering director at Green Urban, was delighted to see the defibrillator up and running.

He said: “It’s taken just over a year to make. We did a lot of testing and it wasn’t an easy process.

"We're very proud. We've made 2,500 cabinets for places across the world and have doing it for two and half years.

"We proud about this one, especially because it's a world first.

"As an engineering company, we are pushing the boundaries with everything we do.

"We're just chuffed we can create something that could save people's lives if there's ever a problem."

The club raised £4,300 for two defibrillators; an ordinary one at the club house and the world's first nature-powered device at the far end of the course.

Donations were made by CGP and a further £700 was donated by Cumbria and Lancashire Rotary Club and the Millom Rotary Club branch.

Lauren Watson, North West Ambulance Service's chain of survival lead for Cumbria, said this new piece of equipment is a "lifeline" for people in rural areas.

She said: "When someone is in cardiac arrest, we only have a few minutes to react.

"In the middle of a golf course - or anywhere rural - people are especially vulnerable because we are not able to get there in that time, so this is a real lifeline for people.

"Without defibrillators, a lot more people would die.

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