A £6,500 grant for a screening programme for young people at risk of sudden cardiac death has been approved by Darwen Neighbourhood Board. 

It follows an appeal by parent campaigners Irene Wickers and Granville Staff, who both lost sons to the condition. 

Irene's son Neil, from Darwen, died suddenly aged 31 when  he collapsed at a Blackburn gym. 

And Granville's son David, from Hoddlesdon, died aged 17 after collapsing at the end of the 10K Dazrwen Dashers Race in 1994. 

The parents, who are members of the Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) group, appealed to the Darwen board at its meeting on Tuesday. 

They had pledged to raise £3,500 towards the £10,000 needed to bring specialist doctors and equipment to Darwen.  The screening session will now take place next year at the Darwen Access Point and will see more than 40 young people aged between 14 and 35 screened. 

Granville Staff said: "This is absolutely fantastic.  I am over the moon. 

"To get a large lump sum like this is absolutely unbelievable especially as to raise that sort of money in these hard times is extremely hard work. 

"Every week in the UK, at least 12 apparently fit and healthy young people die from undiagnosed heart conditions. 

The pair have already organised the screening of 400 young people of which they discovered 30 had some kind of heart condition.  Six were life threatening. 

Other funding approved by the Neighbourhood Board included £5,000 for the Lancashire Wildlife Trust to run wildlife activities for young people at Sunnyhurst Wood Nature Reserve; £5,000 for the First Steps Into Employment project for training unemployed people; and around £6,000 for NEWRAD Fisheries Club for a number of projects including security fencing. 

Luca Sciambarella, the board's deputy chairman, said: "We were delighted to approve these projects and are pleased that our work will directly benefit the residents of Darwen."