ALMOST 100 people took advantage of free health checks organised by a Copeland community group aiming to reduce the number of people having strokes.

More than 10 per cent of those attending were advised to see their doctor for further monitoring.

The Copeland Community Stroke Prevention Project offered blood pressure and pulse testing at the Cumbrian Traders Day in St Nicholas Gardens in Whitehaven last week.

Its next event will be at Distington Vintage Rally on Sunday, July 7.

Rotarian Kevin Walsh helped organise the health checks. He said: “It was a fantastic day with lots of people stopping to chat and have the free tests.

“There are some who will be getting more tests and lots who took away advice about how to take care of their own health. We are already planning more.”

The Copeland Community Stroke Prevention Project is made up of: Rotary, the West Cumbrians’ Voice for Healthcare, the Stroke Association, NWAS, Healthwatch Cumbria, Public Health, pharmacies and the local NHS.

Lynn McFarlane from Community Pharmacy Cumbria, said: “Our team had a really busy day and carried out lots of tests but also spent a lot of that time talking to people about their health and making them aware of other information that could be helpful.”

Jon Ward from the West Cumbrians’ Voice for Healthcare said: “I was very pleased to see so many people come to get checked at this event. The testing team were kept busy all day. The challenge for us now is to do more, and I am looking forward to the next events that we are planning.”

As many as 85 per cent of strokes could potentially be avoided by treating some risk factors and making positive health choices such as losing weight, taking more exercise.