Readers have been urged to Have a Heart and give money to a new Carmarthen Journal campaign.

The £50,000 appeal has been launched by the newspaper to get police cars fitted out with heart defibrillators.

The lap-top sized machines can save the lives of heart attack victims by sending a shock to restart the heart if it has stopped beating.

By equipping police cars with the machines, the campaign guarantees help is closer to hand in the event of an attack.

A similar scheme in Seattle has seen a reduction of aout 25 per cent in heart related deaths.

The campaign has received the backing of the British Heart Foundation who will help to train police officers in using the equipment.

Each machine costs £2,225 and the newspaper is hoping to buy at least 30.

Journal editor Alan Osbourn said: “This is a vital campaign as these machines are lifesavers.

“We want to get everyone involved in raising money for the defibrillators. If every reader could just spare £1 we could make it.”

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