Defib is located after mystery disappearance

There was a storm of anger in Standish after the piece of vital life-saving medical equipment disappeared from the wall of the Aldi supermarket on Preston Road.

However, ward elected representative Coun Debbie Parkinson revealed on a social media group last Thursday that the item had been recovered and placed back in its box.

That is not the end of the story, though, as a crowd-funding campaign will now be required to repair the wrecked container.

Coun Parkinson said: “The defib has been located. I have been to retrieve it and it is back in its box.

“The box is damaged and I have done temporary repairs but we will need a new box for winter so will be crowdfunding in the community to help raise funds.”

Coun Parkinson thanked everyone who had helped to hunt for the defibrillator, including the local police community support officer, following the discovery it had gone last Tuesday.

The Labour representative for the ward had raised the matter on social media as she got it installed back in 2015 as a Heartstart volunteer for the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) before she got elected.

The idea the defibrillator might have been stolen and the vandalism to the box provoked angry comments from disgusted residents.

Defibrillators help someone suffering cardiac arrest by giving a high-energy electric shock to their heart, with the machine giving instructions on what to do to the user.