Fundraising events at Asda stores around the country raised £274,413 for the British Heart Foundation in a single month.

Throughout February Asda stores hosted fundraising activities including raffles and tombolas, and sold BHF pin badges and jute bags where 36p from every sale went to the BHF.

The fundraising month was a one-off event, but the supermarket chain has an ongoing partnership with the charity which will see defibrillators placed in every one of their 609 stores, depots and offices by the end of this year.

Amit Aggarwal, head of corporate fundraising at the BHF, added: “We are thrilled to have the support of Asda colleagues and customers alike. As a charity we rely on funds raised through fundraising activity to continue our pioneering research into heart disease.

“We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with Asda as we help support the distribution of defibrillators to all Asda stores in the UK.”

Asda stores hosted a fundraising day on February 7 as part of BHF’s Ramp up the Red fundraising campaign. Store managers from across the company took part in a pedometer challenge. Throughout the month, Community Life Champions raised £123,992 through in-store fundraising, an average of £286 per store.

By the end of 2014 Asda will become the UK’s first large retailer to commit to having CPR trained employees and a public access defibrillator in every store.

Holly Austin Davies, community life manager at Asda, said: “We are proud to have raised such an incredible amount for such a deserving charity. It was a fantastic start to our partnership with the BHF.

“We worked closely to develop fundraising activities which would engage with our colleagues and customers enabling us to raise awareness in our local communities, and educate people about heart health while having fun raising funds.”