A NEW defibrillator has been fitted at Nefyn United Football Club, thanks to the fundraising efforts of a former club official.

The defibrillator has been fitted to the wall of the club building near the changing rooms.

Iwan Evans, who was co-groundsman, kit man and committee member at the club before stepping down from the roles last week, raised the money with his partner through a bonus ball event during lockdown.

He told the Cambrian News how his personal experiences made him feel it was important to have the defibrillator installed at the club.

Iwan said: “I decided to raise money to get a defibrillator at the club because I suffer from heart disease called dilated cardiomyopathy and I have an ICD implant.

“My father had the disease and it goes long way back in my family, so I decided that it was very important to raise money to get a defibrillator at the football club because my two boys play for the club and for every other player who’s playing for the club and visiting team and anyone else.”

He continued: “Me and my partner Bethan Williams raised the money by playing a weekly bonus ball twice a week during the lockdown period last year and it raised the money for the defibrillator.”

The concerning incident with Danish footballer Christian Eriksen in the European Championships helped to reinforce the importance of the life saving equipment.

Iwan added: “It has showed over the weekend what happened to player Christian Eriksen that it is very important to have one close to you life is too short. My advice is for every football club to try to raise funds for a defibrillator.

Iwan added a big thank you to his partner Bethan Williams for helping him to fundraise for the defibrillator and also to Tomos Hughes, who is Welsh Ambulance PADS support officer, for setting up the device.