A LOCAL councillor has enlisted the UK Deputy Prime Minister’s support as he soars new heights to help the nation’s charity to save even more lives.

Cllr Mark Cole from Cardigan enlisted the support of Nick Clegg MP, the UK’s Deputy Prime Minister to sponsor him as he raised £5,000 for British Heart Foundation (BHF) Cymru in a sky dive in memory of his father, Lance Cole. Money raised by the skydive will go towards BHF Cymru’s No Time To Wait Appeal. The appeal is raising money to train more people in emergency life-support skills and to place many more defibrillators (AEDs) in locations across Wales with help from the Welsh Ambulance Service.

Cllr Mark Cole said “I thoroughly enjoyed the sky dive challenge and it’s an experience I’ll never forget. It was all the better when I asked Nick Clegg to support me through some sponsorship money! Its 10 years since my father Lance Cole passed away, aged 66. He was born with a heart defect and had battled many health challenges during his life. Doctors told him that it was a miracle that he had managed to live as long as he did. I undertook this sky dive challenge to say a big thank you to BHF Cymru for its tremendous ongoing investment into vital research into heart disease. I am delighted that over £5,000 has been raised for the BHF Cymru’s 'No Time to Wait' appeal which will help save more lives in Wales through placing defibrillators and emergency lifesaving skills training across the country.”

Jayne Lewis Fundraising Volunteer Manager said: “I’d like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to Cllr Mark Cole for this personal challenge to support our No Time to Wait appeal. His, and the Deputy Prime Minister’s support to this appeal is vitally important as that more needs to be done to improve people’s chances of surviving a cardiac arrest in our communities. Currently only around 1 in 10 people survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest, but this Appeal could change that. We would love to hear from more people locally who can come on board with us to really achieve more with this Appeal. With more people in Wales trained in emergency life-support skills and more AEDs available locally, the chances of resuscitating someone from a cardiac arrest should be greatly improved. Having more defibrillators available locally for these emergencies is crucial to saving more lives. With more people in Wales trained in emergency life-support skills and more AEDs available locally, the chances of resuscitating someone from a cardiac arrest should be greatly improved. Having more defibrillators available locally for these emergencies is crucial to saving more lives. It is also vitally important that people are trained in emergency life-support skills. These are paramount in improving the chances of a cardiac arrest victim until professional help arrives.”