FERGUSON Marine is now a much safer place to work after life saving defibrillators were placed on the two ferries being built there in memory of a Port Glasgow schoolboy.

Mum Kathleen Orr, who lost her son Jayden aged 10 and set up a charity in his name, works in the shipyard and was keen to get management on board with her drive to get as many of the devices as possible across the area.

She offered the lifesaving devices for the 400-strong workforce, who are working to finish the long overdue MV Glen Sannox and her unnamed sister ship.

Yard bosses recognised the need for the machines and now they are in place to be used in the event of an emergency.

Since the start of Kathleen's campaign the number of defibs in Inverclyde has jumped from just three to 100.

Kathleen is a cleaner at the yard and her oldest son Declan is a labourer.

She said: "We are delighted to donate two defibs, one for each boat.

"It is so important because there are 400 people working here.

"We are helping make it a safe place to work with first aid and emergency response teams on hand.."

Ferguson Marine invited Kathleen, St Andrew's Ambulance, where Kathleen works as a volunteer first responder, and MSP Stuart McMillan to mark the donation.

Raymond Gallagher, who leads health and safety, started at Ferguson's four months ago and was determined to help Kathleen's mission.

He said: "It is something that is very personal to me - I wanted to do everything I could to help Kathleen's campaign and make Ferguson's safer.

"I started in health and safety after I lost my work colleague, Tony Garbutt, 15 years ago, while at work on the M8.

"A drunk driver drove right into him and he died in front of me.

"I went into health and safety to do all I can to prevent anything happening to someone else at work, in his memory.

"It is something that I am passionate about."

Operations manager Finlay MacLennan was also well aware of the need to keep his workforce as safe as possible.

He said: "My wife is a intensive care nurse so I know only too well the difference defibs can make to save lives.

"This is something that we wanted to do to keep our workers safe.

"I think we have all had experiences of people collapsing on site.

"It is reassuring to have a defib on board the ship."

Kathleen, husband John, daughter Kerry and son Declan were left devastated when promising ice-skater Jayden collapsed and died while training four years ago.

In a bid to keep his memory alive and save lives in his name, Kathleen launched the Jayden's Rainbow charity and teamed up with the Tele to put defibs in public places.

She has also worked closely with MSP Mr McMillan and together they are campaigning for a change in planning law to improve regulations around defibs.

Kathleen said: "I love my job here and the people I work with are so supportive.

"Health and safety is so important to us as a family and Raymond has been brilliant working with us on this.."

Mr McMillan praised the government-run yard for looking after the welfare of staff.

He added: "I have been really impressed with how seriously Ferguson's has taken this onboard and wish to thank them very much for their support.

"Kathleen has made such an enormous difference with her defibrillators campaign.

"We now have them across Inverclyde and I want to pay tribute to Kathleen and her family for that."