A RUGBY club, which dug deep to purchase a potentially life-saving defibrillator, hosted a special ceremony to dedicate the equipment to the memory of a rugby player.

Kingsclere Rugby Club bought the defibrillator after learning of the death of Jason Laman in January last year. Jason was a popular dad from Wheatley, Oxfordshire, who played against the club on a number of occasions and got to know many of the players. The 42-year-old collapsed and died while playing rugby in Holton, Oxfordshire.

Among the guests at the dedication ceremony was Abbie Laman, 20, Jason’s youngest daughter, and Jason’s parents, Margaret and Clive Laman.

Scott Clark, a member of Kingsclere Rugby Club committee, said: “After Jason’s death, we as a club realised that this was something that could so easily have happened to one of our club members.

“With this in mind, we set out to get a defibrillator unit for our club as well as making it available to the community at large around the Fieldgate Centre, where we play.

“We approached Jason’s parents, as we didn’t want to do anything without their permission, and they thought it was a great idea. It’s something very positive which has come out of something awful.

“We don’t know if a similar piece of kit could have saved Jason, but you can’t assume that people won’t need it. Hopefully, we will never have to use it, but it could be life-saving.”

The defibrillator, which cost around £1,200, is fully automated and is located within the Fieldgate Centre. The dedication ceremony was held prior to the annual charity ‘Old Boys’ match, which raised nearly £2,000 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.