Bolton Lever Rotary Club has funded a portable Automated External Defibrillator which will be carried on rambles around the district.

The single-use defibrillator is light and portable and has the potential to save the life of anyone suffering from sudden cardiac arrest – and it will be carried by Rotarian Christopher Hill.

It is not the first defibrillator the club has sponsored, providing one for public access at the Bolton Steam Museum in 2022.

However, this new defibrillator will make a significant difference - it is small and so lightweight it can be carried around in a rucksack and taken to places that ordinarily would be miles from a crucial life-saving device.

Invented by Australian MedTech start-up Rapid Response Revival, CellAED® was created to make defibrillators more accessible and affordable, addressing the low survival rate associated with sudden cardiac arrest.

According to data, 100,000 people die in the UK every year following cardiac arrest - globally, between seven and nine million die annually.

This is because cardiac arrest kills quickly – for every minute without treatment, chances of survival decrease by 10 percent – and survival relies on witnesses to be able to respond immediately with CPR and defibrillation.

More than 80 percent of these deaths occur out of hospital, where defibrillators are unlikely to be found.

Bolton Lever Rotarian, Christopher Hill is involved in leading monthly guided walks, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award with Bolton St Catherine’s Academy and is an avid explorer and adventurer and so was chosen as the guardian of the device.

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Christopher Hill, Immediate Past President of Rotary Bolton Lever said: “By carrying this portable AED with me, I will potentially be able to save a life that otherwise may not have been saved.

“With sudden cardiac arrest, the patient is unconscious and not breathing, or breathing irregularly, in these cases it is essential to start CPR as soon as possible and to get a defibrillator to the patient.

“It is something I hope I will only have to carry around and will be thankful if I never have to use it - but now it is there in case I do.”

Rotary members have all received training in how to use the AED and perform CPR and receive regular training sessions to keep themselves refreshed in how to save a life.

Guided walks take place each month and in May as part of the Greater Manchester Walking Festival the club will be offering free guided walks around stage one and stage two of the Rotary Way Bolton.

Stage one will be from Affetside to Little Lever and stage two will be from Little Lever to Walkden.

This will take place on Saturday, May 4 from 10am to 4pm.

Anyone interested in joining Rotary to make a difference in Bolton visit www.joinrotary.org to find out more.

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on X @chloewjourno.