A COMMUNITY is clubbing together to buy a defibrillator after a barman suffered a heart attack at a village pub.

Nick Collingwood, 58, was working behind the bar at a packed Crown Inn in Puncknowle on Friday night, when he "keeled over" and went into cardiac arrest.

Volunteers performed CPR before paramedics arrived and took him to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital where he is recovering.

Following the "frightening" incident, landlady Blanche Alexander has launched a campaign for a defibrillator to be installed in the village amid concerns people in isolated locations can face a longer wait for paramedics to arrive.

She said: "One minute Nick was fine, the next he had keeled over and was on the floor.

"It was quite frightening when he stopped breathing. The pub was packed at the time, which was fortunate as if he had been on his own, it could have had a much worse outcome.

"It felt like quite a while until the ambulance arrived. It seemed like it was a bit touch and go at one point but luckily he was okay. I have spoken to him and he is still in hospital but feeling better."

Ms Alexander has been flooded with donations to help buy the life-saving equipment.

Other west Dorset villages have a defibrillator, but the nearest to Puncknowle is in Litton Cheney - almost three miles away.

"It got me thinking that it would be a good idea to have one in Puncknowle," added Ms Alexander.

"We started a funding campaign to buy one on Saturday lunchtime and we now have £670. The more money we raise, the better quality of defibrillator we can buy so we are hoping to raise as much as we can.

"It is clearly very important to have one in the village. Living in such a rural area, we know that it can sometimes take the ambulance a bit longer to reach us, so I think a defibrillator would be a very welcome addition. "

South Western Ambulance Service confirmed they had been called to the pub and taken a man to hospital.

A spokesman said: "We received a call at 7.06pm to an incident at Church Street in Puncknowle.

"We treated one casualty, a man in his 50s where it looks like he has had a cardiac arrest at the scene and CPR was carried out."

Palmers Brewery said it would match any funding raised by the Puncknowle campaigners.

Jayson Perfect, tenanted trade director at Palmers, said: "Palmers will be matching the funds raised by the Crown so that a defibrillator can be installed at the pub. "Defibrillators are invaluable community assets and village pubs are an ideal location for them. Pubs are great vehicles for fundraising and they can host ongoing CPR training."

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