ALLOA-BASED charity Scottish Autism received a generous donation of £500 from Clacksfirst BID last week.

BID manager Kevin Deighan stopped by the organisation's head office to drop off the cheque on Thursday, September 12.

On the day, he also sat down with the Advertiser to explain how the donation came about.

He said: "The BID delivered 13 defibrillators to the business areas in the Clackmannanshire BID.

"By coincidence, when we were locating one in Scottish Autism's Struan House the health and safety manager, Vince Bowles, said that he could train everyone on the defibrillator."

That was a huge stroke of luck for the BID, as they would otherwise have to pay a hefty sum to have the training delivered.

Kevin said: "So, we trained somewhere in the region of 40 people in the use of the defibrillators and CPR.

"It was fantastic: it saved the BID money, and delivered far more in terms of the numbers we could train."

And it was decided that BID would donate a chunk of the saving back to Scottish Autism as a thank you to Vince.

Kevin said: "With Vince, there was no discussion about the donation, he just offered his services without any conditions.

"But the BID decided it would be worth making this gesture and donating.

"[Scottish Autism] were absolutely delighted."

The charity has already earmarked the money for Makers Café – a hugely popular business they run in Clacks.

Karen Wilson, fundraising manager at Scottish Autism, said: "We were delighted to deliver training to the organisations to whom Clacksfirst BID had donated a defibrillator.

"We are very grateful for this generous donation which will support our Makers Cafe and Community Hub in Alloa.

"Makers offers an inclusive work environment for autistic people and individuals with learning disabilities, who can learn new skills and build their social confidence in a welcoming workspace."