POTENTIALLY life-saving equipment has been donated to a junior rugby league team.

Woolston Rovers under 10s Golds have been given a defibrillator by national civil engineering contractors CPC Civils.

The equipment, which can be used in the event of a cardiac arrest, will be on-hand if needed during all the team’s matches and training sessions.

Parents of players had been inspired to raise funds by Ciaran’s Cause, a charity set up after seven-year-old Ciaran Geddes from Locking Stumps died of a cardiac arrest while playing football in 2012.

Phil Lucy, head coach of the under 10s Golds, said: “As coaches of nine and 10-year-old rugby players at Woolston Rovers, we decided that during 2017 we would fundraise towards buying a defibrillator for the team.

“When one of our parents, touchline manager Mike Wilson, became aware of the reasons we were fundraising he contacted CPC Civils for a donation towards the defibrillator through his workplace as a site manager at Kier Infrastructure.

“CPC generously offered to purchase a defibrillator for our team, which then enabled us to purchase other equipment for our young rugby stars - such as training tops, bearing the name of CPC Civils - with the money that we had already fundraised.

“But having the defibrillator could potentially save someone’s life.

“The team travels all around the north west, so we can often be in unfamiliar places should we require the emergency services.”

Dave Whalley from the club added: “It really is a vital piece of equipment to have, and we are very thankful to them for donating this - and also to Mike Wilson for getting in touch with them.

“It gives an added peace of mind to coaches and parents to know that this is on the touchline at all time should an emergency occur.”