A BALORNOCK butcher has installed a life-saving defibrillator outside his shop - and dedicated the device to a local lad who died of a cardiac arrest at just 19.

Donnie Shaw and the North East community have reached their target to put the life-saving device outside his shop on Wallacewell Road.

He marked the achievement by paying tribute to Marc Hegarty who died in June. The teenager had a cardiac arrest which was brought on by an asthma attack.

The device, which cost £2,000, is named after Marc and a plaque is situated outside the shop in his honour.

Shaw the Butchers owner Donnie said: “Marc’s mother said she was grateful for us doing this and dedicating the device to her son.

“People are coming into the butchers just off the street, not even customers, saying it is a good thing for the community.”

He added: “I want to thank the community. I hope we don’t use it but it is there if we do need it.”

The money for the defibrillator was raised through a raffle, bonus ball and charity single recorded by Donnie himself which we sold in-store. Donations also came from a variety of organisations and businesses.

The initiative is part of a nationwide campaign which is encouraging Scottish butchers to raise money for community defibrillators. The Balornock device will also be fitted with a camera for security purposes.

Thanks to his efforts, Donnie also revealed he has also earned a nomination at the St Andrew’s First Aid award ceremony which takes place in November.

Moyra Reid, Head of Fundraising for St Andrew’s First Aid, said: “Donnie is a perfect example of the excellent nominees we have for our seventh annual Scottish First Aid Awards.

“He is one of 51 nominees for the nine categories to be announced on the night.

“Donnie is nominated for the Community Champion award which awards individuals who have excelled in promoting first aid and educating others within communities across Scotland.

“The awards are a great way for us to celebrate extraordinary achievements in first aid. It’s an enjoyable evening with an important message: every one of us has the ability to save a life.”

She added: “St Andrew’s First Aid’s mission is to provide everyone in Scotland with the highest standards in first aid skills, services and volunteering opportunities. We believe that no-one should suffer or die because they needed first aid and didn’t get it.”

Butchers across Scotland are now being encouraged to pledge “I’m In” and display collection tins in their shop to raise money for a local defibrillator to support the Butcher’s at the Heart of the Community campaign. The campaign was started by Scottish Craft Butchers.

The Evening Times is currently leading a campaign urging all of Scotland 32 local authorities to teach all secondary pupils CPR with support from British Heart Foundation.

Glasgow City Council was the first local authority in the UK to back our life-saving campaign and were followed by Aberdeen City, which is also looking into the number of defibrillators in schools.

The heart charity is now in talks with several other councils including Angus, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Inverclyde, Perth & Kinross, Renfrew, South Lanarkshire, Borders and South Lanarkshire.

The UK government has unveiled plans to make CPR training part of the school curriculum.

Every minute without CPR or defibrillation reduces a person’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest by around 10 per cent.

To combat the challenge, the NHS, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Microsoft have vowed to map all the UK’s public defibrillators.