GREENOCK craft butcher Duncan MacKenzie is on a lifesaving mission to raise money for a heart-starting defibrillator.

He has a target of £1,000 and is seeking the support of his loyal customers and the wider community in achieving the goal.  

The campaign is part of a drive by the Scottish Craft Butchers organisation to provide defibrillators throughout the country.

Duncan said: "I'm very happy to be involved in this, it is a great community project for everyone to get behind.

"I'm aiming to raise £1,000 and once that has been achieved, St John's ambulance will provide the rest of the funding for a defibrillator.

"It will be placed outside the shop and will be something for the whole community, there is a very big community around the shop.

"I'm looking at various ways to raise the money required and hope as many people as possible supports us."

It is one of a number of fundraising drives across Inverclyde to provide defibrillators in local communities.

The Tele told last year how staff at St Margaret's Court care home in Greenock were rallying to cover the cost of one of the lifesaving kits for residents and their local area.

Earlier this year we reported how Stewart Munro, who tragically lost his son Kenneth to a heart attack, was raising funds to have a defibrillator installed at the Cowal View shops in Gourock.

Butcher Duncan said: "We're aiming to have the defibrillator installed no later than Christmas, but hopefully before.

"There is no doubt that defibrillators save lives and the more access we have to them the better.

"Having a defibrillator here can help somebody who is in distress until an ambulance arrives."