Solar-powered defibrillator installed in tiny hamlet

A hamlet with just one road in and out has seen the area's first solar and wind-powered defibrillator being installed.

Barepot, near Workington, is the first place in West Cumbria to have such a device.

Megan Stephenson, from the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), said she had worked with the defibrillator's manufacturers to come up with a solution to the lack of power in some rural areas.

The community resuscitation engagement officer said: "Every minute that a person in cardiac arrest doesn't receive effective CPR and the use of a defibrillator the chances of survival drastically reduce."

The device will give residents of Barepot access to the defibrillator 24 hours a day, she added, bypassing potential issues with electrical supply in the rural riverside hamlet.

"Often when looking for suitable locations for defibrillators, a power source can be problematic, so this is an excellent alternative," Workington Town councillor Mike Heaslip said.

The authority and NWAS worked together to deliver the device, with residents of Barepot - which has fewer than 100 houses - also raising £300 towards the defibrillator.

Heaslip, who chairs the town council's environmental committee, said the authority hoped to install similar devices elsewhere.

"We also hope that this sets a trend of these being installed further afield," he said.

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