A village has just installed the last of three defibrillators after the tragic death of a popular resident.
Eric Clark died from a heart attack three years ago at the first Pumpherston music festival Sing on the Bing.
Now, thanks to the efforts of his family and Pumpherston Community Council, there are three more defibrillators available in the village.
Eric’s widow Liz said: “The idea came about because he died so suddenly.
“After the funeral we talked to the community council and we discussed fundraising to get defibrillators installed to hopefully save somebody from having to go through this in the future.”
An initial fundraiser was held in late 2017 and musical acts Iain McClafferty, Close Harmony, Michael Campbell and Five Strings, who had performed at Sing on the Bing, all played for free.
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The first two defibrillators were installed immediately afterwards.
The football club was chosen as the first location and the second was installed at the bowling club. The third was installed at the Co-op last month.
The new defibrillator is operational 24 hours a day and is registered with Scottish Ambulance.
Eric’s daughter Pamela said: “It’s absolutely fantastic now we’ve got all three of them installed. My dad would be one very proud man.
“He was born in Pumpherston and he died in Pumpherston so he knew quite a few people and was very popular. He’d be absolutely thrilled to know that people have gone to the trouble of raising money and installing these to maybe one day save lives.”
The defibrillators cost around £4500, raised through the musical fundraiser and various donations.
Karen Rogers of Pumpherston Community Council said: “We couldn’t have done it without the musical acts and the community of Pumpherston, who rallied together in tribute to a stalwart and much-loved character of the village.”
There are now five defibrillators in Pumpherston. The other two are at the dental surgery and at the golf club.
