A MEDICAL emergency is no laughing matter but it is thanks to a night of comedy in Helston that potentially life-saving equipment has been bought for the area.

An evening with Cornish comedian Johnny Cowling, organised by the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard, raised enough money to buy a mobile defibrillator. This will now be carried in a police car operating out of Helston Police Station.

The defibrillator was bought from FLEET (Front Line Emergency Equipment Trust), a Cornish charity that provides equipment to all the services that give emergency medical support to the public, and representative Vicky Parkes was there when the rotary club’s president elect, James Kingston, presented it to Falmouth and Helston sector inspector Ian Thompson at Helston Police Station.

Inspector Thompson said: "The number one objective of the police is the preservation of life and having ready access to a defibrillator will enable officers to be better prepared when attending a wide range of incidents.

“The generosity of the Rotary Club and FLEET for providing the equipment to Helston Police Station is recognition that my officers are often sent to incidents where having a defibrillator will provide a greater chance of saving a life.

“We hope that we’ll never have to use it, but if we do we’re now better prepared."