Life-saving defibrillator installed at recreation ground in Milton Keynes

Villagers in Hanslope have a new piece of life-saving equipment thanks to a local housebuilder.

Davidsons Homes, which is building at The Wheatfields off Long Street Road, donated a defibrillator to the village after becoming aware of residents’ concerns about the lack of one in their community.

The device has been installed on the wall of the pavilion at the recreation ground, off Castlethorpe Road, where several local football and cricket clubs play.

One of the teams which plays at the recreation ground is the Hanslope Hornets Football Club. Their secretary Jo Wright said: “We are extremely grateful to Davidsons Homes for this generous donation, as this vital piece of equipment will be a great source of comfort to the club as well as the wider village.

Club treasurer Mark Flack said: “We’d like to say a massive thank you to Davidsons Homes for arranging this, and Hanslope Parish Council for allowing installation. Our club has grown to six teams with almost one hundred players, and on some match days we can have 150 attendees on site, so having the defibrillator available is of great comfort.”

Hanslope Parish Council will manage and maintain the defibrillator and will also organise training sessions for the device.

The defibrillator delivers a dose of electrical energy to the body to restore a regular heartbeat in the event of a cardiac arrest, and contains simple instructions that mean untrained members of the public can use it.

According to the British Heart Foundation, around 30,000 people suffer from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK every year and only one in 10 survive. However, with the use of a defibrillator or effective CPR, the chances of survival increase dramatically.

Simon Tyler, sales director at Davidsons Homes South Midlands, said: “We are committed to supporting the communities in which we build, so we are extremely pleased to have been able to provide this much-needed piece of equipment in Hanslope.

“According to the Resuscitation Council UK, only three per cent of cardiac arrests happen within the recommended retrieval distance of a defibrillator, so the more defibrillators that are out there, the more lives that could potentially be saved.

“We hope this safety device will provide reassurance to the teams and individuals who play at the recreation ground, as well as the wider village.”