The near-death of a young Angus footballer has prompted his club to move to prevent future tragedies on the pitch.
Forfar Boys’ Club coaches spent 23 minutes resuscitating nine-year-old Braedyn Reid after he collapsed during a coaching session last year.
The boy was put into a medically-induced coma at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow after he collapsed at Webster’s Sports Centre in Kirriemuir.
A coach performed CPR and got Braedyn’s heart started again but it stopped for a second time.
Chairman Barry Quinn has now bought three defibrillators for the club, along with training for 75 people, to ensure readiness for similar events.
The coaches were able to access a unit of this type at the school on the day, but Mr Quinn said things could have gone differently at another venue.
A fourth machine has been donated by oil workers of Shell Gannet A platform, led by Terry Stout, who donated £1,000 for kit and training for another 25 people.
Mr Quinn said the day was the “scariest situation” he had seen.
He added: “To give quality CPR to a child within our duty of care for 23 minutes was something that cannot ever be underestimated and everyone at Forfar Boys FC is incredibly proud of the way all our coaches, parents and players handled the situation.”
“Following the incident with Braedyn one thing that immediately became apparent was that had this occurred at any of our other regular training venues things could have been very different given we did not have a defibrillator at any of those sites.”
Club staff met representatives from other Angus clubs and the Scottish Youth Football Association to help other organisations get themselves prepared.
Council staff at the centre and an off-duty doctor also provided emergency first aid prior to the arrival of the ambulance on October 23.