THANKS to a generous donation, Barry will have a new defibrillator housed a Ty Iolo hostel and a refurbished netball court at Iolo Park.

Builders Persimmon Homes East Wales has made a £695 donation to be spent in the Court area of the town, with £400 going towards the defibrillator - which can be used to restart the heart when someone suffers a cardiac arrest - at the Treharne Road hostel for homeless families.

The remainder of the cash, £295, will fund new lines at the netball court at Iolo Park with netball starting on Monday, June 1 at 4.15pm.

Police Community Support Officer Leanne Davies put forward the application for the money as part of Persimmon Homes’ Community Champions project, which will see a pot of £24,000 being given to support local groups and charities over the next 12 months.

“We are delighted that Persimmon Homes East Wales chose to support Court Ward," she said. "The money will go towards a defibrillator, which could save a life, and funding for netball court markings for the local community netball team.

“A well as installing the defibrillator, we will also be able to offer local residents free training sessions to enable them to operate the equipment and have access 24/7.

“We are hugely grateful to Persimmon for this generous donation.”

Victoria Williams, from Persimmon Homes East Wales, said the community initiative was a way of supporting people across every city, town and village where the company works.

She said: “We are very proud to hand over this donation to the Court Ward in Barry, an extremely worthy cause.

“It is wonderful to donate this money for a service that directly benefits and helps people in the local area.”

The Persimmon Community Champions initiative is a national programme where charities and groups can apply for funding up to the value of £1,000 to match money they have already raised themselves. Nationwide the company will donate a total of £750,000.

Victoria said: “We’ve made it really simple to apply for funding, and we’re urging groups and charities to apply for next month’s donation by completing an online form."

For more information visit www.persimmonhomes.com/charity