Community groups have joined forces to provide life-saving equipment for use in their towns.

AFC Emley and community groups in the village, and Heckmondwike Rotary Club have both bought defibrillators which are available for residents to use in emergencies.

They are the latest in a series of such installations in a bid to help save lives.

In recent months, defibrillators have been installed in the centre of Kirkburton and at Warrenside, the soccer complex at Deighton.

Fans of AFC Emley raised the funds to purchase the defibrillator as part of the nationwide partnership between the Football Association and the British Heart Foundation.

Community groups in Emley joined forces to provide vital life-saving equipment for use in the village.

Led by the efforts of the local football club, the defibrillator has been installed so that it can be accessed by first responders and trained first-aiders in the event of a medical emergency.

Donations from several local groups have now raised enough funds to keep the equipment in a code-locked secure safe that could save lives in the village and beyond.

A defibrillator creates a controlled electric shock that can re-start the heart during a cardiac arrest.

Some 900 defibrillators have been purchased at reduced rates by non-league clubs across the country as part of the scheme.

AFC Emley chairman Nigel Wakefield said: “It has been fantastic to see local groups support us in making the defibrillator more accessible for medical emergencies in the village.

“Once we had raised enough funds to buy the equipment, we soon realised it may well never save a life being locked up in the club to use only on a match-day. It has been fantastic to see local groups support us in making the defibrillator more accessible for medical emergencies in the village.”

Meanwhile, Heckmondwike Rotary Club, Heckmondwike Community Centre and Roberttown Roadrunners have joined forces to buy a defibrillator which has been installed outside the community centre.

It was unveiled by Tour de France veteran Brian Robinson, of Mirfield.

The growth of the life-saving equipment follows the high-profile case of Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba, who collapsed with heart problems on a pitch at Tottenham Hotspur.

He and others have campaigned for defibrillators to be in widespread use.

And Huddersfield amateur footballer Lee Orton set up a charity in the town after he, too, collapsed while playing on a pitch in a local league game.