A POPULAR park used by thousands of people every week is the latest location to benefit from a new defibrillator.
Representatives from Millom Town Council were on hand to take delivery of the life-saving kit as part of JF Hornby & Co’s Have a Heart campaign.
Payroll executive Richard Conway met with the Mayor of Millom, Simone Faulkner, to hand over the equipment.
Simone – who is also a councillor for Millom Town Council – said: “I would like to place on record my thanks for the new defibrillator.
“This is such an important piece of equipment for this very well-used park.
“Hopefully, it will not be required. However, the reassurance of it being in the park covers all eventualities.”
The defibrillator will be available 24/7 and located on an exterior wall of the changing facilities next to the tennis courts. It is due to be installed in the coming weeks.
The JF Hornby & Co Have a Heart campaign has so far provided five top-of-the-range defibrillators and external housing units to communities across south Cumbria.
Community-bound: Four of the eight defibs
To date, they have been handed over to Ford Park, Ulverston; Roa Island, Barrow; Abbotts Vale Community Centre, Barrow; Barrow AFC; and Millom Park.
An additional defibrillator and wall unit is due to be handed over to representatives of Whicham Parish Council, who have identified a need at Silecroft.
The JF Hornby & Co Have a Heart campaign was launched on Valentine’s Day this year with a pledge of £5,000 to deliver four defibrillators to communities most in need.
Due to the volume of requests, Managing Director Paul Hornby doubled the pledge to £10,000, allowing eight life-saving devices to be purchased.
Funding is being provided by The Hornby Foundation, the company’s charitable arm.
A partnership has been formed with the British Heart Foundation, from which The Hornby Foundation is purchasing the equipment.
Hornby’s representative Richard, who lives in Millom with his family, said: “As a business, JF Hornby covers a broad geographical area, and each of the communities we serve is important to us.
“When the need for a defibrillator at Millom Park became apparent, I was keen for our Have a Heart campaign to support the town and its people by providing one.
“Our MD, Paul, was more than happy to help, and it was a pleasure to hand the equipment over to the Town Council, who I am confident will install and maintain it very well.”
The Have a Heart campaign has two remaining defibrillators to distribute to communities in need. If you would like to nominate an area, please email jfh@jfhornby.com
