A YOUNG Borders boy has taken the initiative to raise money to help keep his school's defibrillator in top condition.

When Hector Forrester found out that the Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) at Priorsford Primary School needed replacement pads he decided to do something to help.

By selling his own origami creations for a minimum donation of £1 each, Hector raised £147 which he presented to members of Peebles Community First Responders (CFRs) at their recent training night.

Les Cashin, a coordinator for Peebles CFRs said: "Alongside supporting the Scottish Ambulance Service by attending critical calls, such as Cardiac Arrests, Peebles Community First Responders also maintain 12 of the 20-odd Public Access Defibrillators in Peebles, including the one at Priorsford School.

"The question we most often get asked is, ‘Where are our local defibrillators?’.

"We can now refer people to a website called The Circuit, which is a joint venture between The British Heart Foundation and the Ambulance Service and contains details of over 5000 PADs in Scotland, 20 of them are in Peebles.

"Over the past few years, there have been some brilliant local initiatives to raise money and install PADs all over our town, but the work doesn’t stop once the PAD is installed.

"They need regular checking and the sticky pads and batteries need replacing every few years.

"When a PAD is registered on The Circuit, ‘Guardians’ are identified and are kept informed when the PAD is used or needs checking.

"It also means that when someone calls 999, the Ambulance Service can direct the caller to the nearest PAD and provide them with any access codes needed.

"Keeping our PADs looked after and accessible could be a matter of life and death for somebody in our community, so if you own a defibrillator or are aware of one that isn’t listed on The Circuit, please encourage the owner to register it."

For more information on Peebles Community First Responders, access basic life support training for a local group, or if you have a PAD that you would like some help with maintaining, contact Peebles CFRs at: peeblesfirstresponders@gmail.com.

And to find your nearest defibrillator, visit: www.defibfinder.uk