Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Couple donate defibrillator in memory of son

Members of Blackburn Rotary Club, volunteers and residents
Members of Blackburn Rotary Club, volunteers and residents

An Aberdeenshire couple have paid for a defibrillator to be installed in their home village in memory of their son.

Alistair and Fiona Rait made the generous donation after discovering the local rotary club were fundraising to install the life-saving device throughout the community.

Their son Simon Rait tragically passed away in 1999, aged just 12, after a road accident.

As it was the 20th anniversary of his death this year, the couple wanted to do something to mark it.

Mrs Rait said: “We did it in Simon’s memory. He was involved in a traffic accident and he couldn’t be saved.

“We’ve stayed in Blackburn for 26 years and it was also about giving something back to the community.

“I think its great to have these devices in small villages because they can make a huge difference before an ambulance arrives.

“If it can save one person’s life then it is worthwhile. It is there if it is needed and may help save a life and prevent someone from feeling the pain of loosing a loved one.

An event to mark the unveiling of the defibrillator was held in Kinellar Hall by members of Blackburn and District Rotary Club.

CPR training was provided by first responders  and Sandpiper Wildcat volunteers.

The club has arranged for three public access defibrillators to be installed in Blackburn.

Secretary Carol Mackie said: “I went to Fintry and they had a public access defibrillator and it occurred to me that Blackburn didn’t.

“We have identified what we think are the best spots that will give people a good chance of getting to the defibrillators.”

John Grant, 43,  started volunteering for the Sandpiper Wildcats in 2017.

He added: “The three minute window is vital.

“The more awareness we raise, and the more people we get feeling confident they could do CPR, the better.

“If I’m just sitting in the house watching telly and have something in the car and an app on my phone that lets me give back to the community, then why not.”

The public access defibrillators are located at Blackburn Pharmacy, at the Kinghorn Bodyshop and at Kinellar Hall.