STAFF at a Wirral school leapt into action to save the life of a caretaker who had a heart attack.

Headteacher Catherine O’Neill Edwards used a defibrillator to deliver the life-saving shock to David Morris after he collapsed at Hoylake Holy Trinity CE primary school just before lunchtime on Wednesday. Colleague Sally Evans called for an ambulance.

Paramedics arrived minutes later and 51-year-old Mr Morris was taken to hospital by ambulance where he underwent an operation. He is now on the road to recovery.

The machine was installed thanks to a donation from Wirral Schools Forum, who are working in partnership with Wirral Council and the Oliver King Foundation.

Recalling the emergency, Ms O'Neill Edwards told the Globe: "All I can say is thank God the defibrillator was here. We’d only had it delivered 26 days earlier.

"If it wasn’t for the Oliver King Foundation, David would probably not be here today. You can never tell who’s going to need the defibrillator.

"David sent a text from hospital to say thanks very much for saving my life."

A total of 12 members of staff at the school, including Mr Morris himself, have been trained how to use the machine thanks to the foundation;.

It was set up by Mr King in memory of his 12-year-old son Oliver, who passed away from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS) in 2011.

Oliver was a fit and talented young sportsman who had been swimming when he fell ill.

He was taken to hospital but despite the efforts of medics, he died.

Had there been access to a defibrillator, Mr King believes his son would still be alive.

Up to £250,000 will be spent on putting the defibrillators in all schools across the borough.

So far, more than 600 machines have been installed in Merseyside and the lives of three children have been saved.

Cllr Tony Smith, Wirral council cabinet member for children and family services, said: “There will soon be life-saving defibrillators in all Wirral schools thanks to a partnership between Wirral Council, Wirral Schools’ Forum and the Oliver King Foundation.

“Wirral Schools’ Forum is providing the funding for the equipment and for training staff in how to use it.

“What happened at Holy Trinity highlights just how important a decision this was.

“I cannot praise the staff enough for the way they handled this dramatic and upsetting situation and, of course, we wish the caretaker a full, speedy recovery.”