SPORTING youngsters are turning their hands to fundraising to buy a lifesaving defibrillator.

Players from Dovercourt Vipers football club will be raising cash for the specialist youth defibrillator, which it is hoped will be on standby for the team as well as Mayflower Primary School.

Club chairman Chris Smith said with 72 players across six teams it was a safety precaution that could save lives.

“If an ambulance from Dovercourt has gone to Colchester it could be half an hour before one can get here and having a defibrillator could be a matter of life and death,” he said.

“We train at the Mayflower Primary School so the idea is that the school can have it on standby during weekdays."

A defibrillator is expected to cost between £800 and £1,000. Fundraising is set to start with a bag pack at Asda in December.