BIG-HEARTED pub-goers have raised more than £2,000 for a life-saving defibrillator kit after the death of friends.

Regulars at Witham's Woolpack Inn have raised £2,143 for a street-accessible defibrillator and a bleed control kit.

They raised the money in just 11 weeks after the deaths of a couple of much-loved friends.

The fundraising was kicked off by Glenn Randall, 51, who decided to give up booze in February and asked his friends to sponsor him.

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Their generosity saw him smash his initial £250 target and by the end of the four weeks he had raised £1,386.

Glenn said: "Giving up alcohol for a month was the easy bit.

"Friends and fellow regulars did the hard bit, donating their hard-earned cash."

His initial aim was to buy a defibrillator to be placed on the wall of the pub in Church Street, for use by the community.

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But then he and pub landlord Dean Fierheller heard about the work of the Liam Taylor Legacy, which works to supply bleed control kits to licensed premises and other public venues.

The kits are designed to be used in the event of any catastrophic bleed, whether caused by accident or deliberately.

"It sounded like an additional facility we could provide for our community," said Dean.

"I hope we don't ever need to use either, but why wouldn't you want to have them available in case the worst happens?

"The bleed kits are only £104 each so it makes sense to buy one with the money we've raised, supporting Liam's grandmother Julie in her mission, but also meaning she can use the cash to give a kit to someone else."

An Easter raffle at the pub raised a further £757, bringing the total to £2,143. 

Anything left over from the purchase of the defibrillator, a bleed control kit and a metal case to store them in will be used to install a security light.