THE daughter of the ex-Lancashire cricketer Gary Keedy helped raise enough money to buy life-saving equipment at her school.

Erin, seven, wrote to parents of children at St Paul’s RC Primary School, on Preston Old Road, in Feniscowles, and then organised a raffle to pay for a defibrillator.

Proud dad Gary, who played for Lancashire from 1995 to 2012 and took more than 500 first class wickets, is an ambassador for charity Hand on Heart, which has the ‘simple goal’ of preventing the deaths of the 12 youngsters who die from heart attacks in the UK every week.

The 39-year-old former bowler said: “My main role is spreading awareness of the charity, and Erin said her school, St Paul’s, didn’t have a defibrillator.

“It just came out. She knows what I do and charity starts at home.

“To not have one at the school where she goes, I thought that was the first port of call. I’m proud of her for coming up with the idea and the school has been really supportive.”

After raising £1,400 – enough to pay for the machine and training for eight staff and 30 pupils – a representative from Hand on Heart presented it at a school assembly on Friday afternoon.

Salford-based Hand on Heart has placed 275 defibrillators into schools, trained 2,200 staff and taught 8,250 students how to perform basic life support since it launched in 2012.

A spokesman said: “We believe that schools are at the heart of any community, and want to ensure the hearts and lives of students, staff and visitors are protected by providing life saving equipmen.”

Gary added: “If you do not shock somebody within two or three minutes they have an 80 per cent chance of dying.

“If you do it within that time, it reduces to around six per cent.”