A CUMNOCK butchers are raising money to have a defibrillator installed outside their shop.

Prime Cuts on Townhead Street are taking part in the Butchers at the Heart of the Community campaign to help save lives.

Shop manager Michael Cunningham said: “It will be outside the shop so it will be for the whole community.

“God forbid that it ever happens but it will be there if someone does fall ill outside the shop.

“We will also get trained in how to use it and basic first aid.

“It was a campaign that started within the Butchers Federation a couple of months ago.

We’ve been fundraising for about eight weeks now and we’re about quarter of the way there.

“We need to raise £1,400. We are running a bonus ball every week now.

“We’ve also put tee-shirts up in the shop and we’ve started wearing them – they say ‘Give a pound, Save a life’ – to advertise it more.”

Cumnock MP Bill Grant is backing the fundraising campaign. He said: “I’m delighted to support Prime Cuts Butchers in their efforts to raise funds for the provision of a publicly accessible defibrillator at the shop in Townhead Street. I am sure the good people of Cumnock will give generous support to this worthy project.

“Time is of the essence when it come to heart attacks and the provision of a defibrillator can be a life saver.”