A GRANDMOTHER who survived a cardiac arrest has opened a dedicated charity shop to raise vital funds to get more life-saving defibrillators in public places.

Bridget Brice, 71, from Ulverston, nearly died last November after collapsing while boarding a train at Lancaster railway station.

Her heart stopped beating independently for 15 minutes – and it was only the swift intervention of a team of strangers, including the commandeering of a public defibrillator on the station platform, that saved her life.

Bridget, a former doctor’s receptionist to husband Dr John Brice, is now opening a temporary shop with her friend Avril Sweeting.

It is at the former Stead and Simpsons shoe shop in King Street, Ulverston, selling clothes, bric-a-brac, books and other items – and volunteers and public support are needed.

The pair have opened temporary charity shops twice before — the first after the Asian tsunami in 2005 and the second after the Pakistan floods of 2010.

Mrs Brice said: “We really need people to help and bring something in or let us know if they need something picking up. The money from everything we sell will go to charity. There is no manager and no-one is getting paid.”

The cardiac unit that saved Mrs Brice cost £800 and delivered the life-saving jolts of electricity which stopped her irregular heart spasm and then restarted her heart.

The North West Ambulance Service is carrying out a campaign called Cardiac Smart to get more defibs in public places and more people trained to use them.

If you can help, call Mrs Brice on 01229 584468 or Avril Sweeting on 01229 587074. To find out more about the Cardiac Smart campaign at cardiac smart.nwas.nhs.uk