New defibrillator pledge after man's death

Almost £1,500 has been pledged towards a new community defibrillator, after one used to try to save the life of a 93-year-old man was suspected to have been faulty.

First responders in the village of Allendale, Northumberland, were directed to a device at the King’s Head pub, on Market Place, on 16 August, but were unable to save the man's life.

It led to questions over the maintenance of the machines in the area, with the issue being described as a "major problem".

Defibrillators are mapped by a system known as The Circuit, which can help ambulance services direct people to the nearest device.

The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) said earlier this week the village's defibrillator was showing on the database as "emergency ready" so the attending crew had tried to deploy it "accordingly".

Northumbria Police is not treating the man's death as suspicious, but a report will be made for the coroner.

At a meeting at the pub on Thursday, villagers discussed the purchase of a replacement machine and the importance of appointing a "defib guardian" to regularly check it works.

Businessman Charlie Halliday said: "There is no point blaming people, but the fact is we have a major problem.

"It could have been anyone. It could have happened to my grandchildren or any of your children.

"As we speak, there is not a defibrillator in the Allendale area. There are three showing up online, but all of them are down today. That is the problem we have got.

"There are a lot of rumours and stories going round and everybody is blaming everyone. We don't need to go down that road, the channel we need to go down is to sort something out."

It was agreed that a new defibrillator should be moved to the nearby Forge art studio, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reports, with a formal monitoring system brought in to ensure it remains in full working order.

People at the meeting pledged £1,400 towards the purchase and installation, which was estimated to be about £2,000.

Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].