A DEFIBRILLATOR will be installed at Halstead's Milbank Stadium following the fundraising efforts of Halstead Town FC and the generosity of one of the town's businesses.

Halstead Town FC began fundraising for two defibrillators following the tragic death of an 18-year-old while playing football.

Football-mad Jack Atkinson suffered a heart attack while playing in a Sunday League game in Clacton in November.

And in an attempt to reduce the chance of a similar incident, the club began fundraising for one defibrillator at the Milbank Stadium, and a second at Courtaulds Sports Ground where 15 youth teams play, as well as a local rugby and bowls club.

Already known for their fundraising exploits, in stepped funeral directors Daniel Robinson and Sons.

The company offered to fund one defibrillator, which will be installed Milbank Stadium.

And after a successful fundraising Christmas Eve Party, the club are half-way to securing a second defibrillator to install at Courtaulds Sports Ground.

Carl Pearse, youth team secretary, said: "It is a relief to know that one defibrillator has been taken care of.

"Daniel Robinsons have been very generous, not only taking on the costs but they have also agreed to set up training once the defibrillator has been installed, which will be hugely beneficial.

"Purely from a footballing point of view, recent events really do hammer home the importance of having a defibrillator on site.

"With the Jack Atkinson incident, he would have had a 95% chance of surviving if their had been a defibrillator available.

"As a club, we felt it was hugely important to have one on site.

"We never want to use one, and we hope we never have to, but at the end of the day they save lives, and you can't overlook that."

Daniel Robinson and Sons will fund the new defibrillator with leftover money from last year's annual charity golf day.

The event raised £40,000 which was divided between a number of local causes.

Bob Wright, manager at Daniel Robinson and Sons Halstead, said: "We are celebrating 125 years in business this year, so we are hoping to continue our community involvement.

"We try to do what we can within the community already, but we are hoping for a bit of an extra push this year.

"We spotted the article in the Gazette a couple of weeks ago about the football club attempting to fundraise.

"We already have a pretty good relationship with them, we do some match sponsorship and that kind of thing, so it was simple enough for us to contact them and get involved."

The defibrillator is set to be delivered within the next week, and Daniel Robinson and Sons are keen to provide training as soon as possible.