A campaign that was launched to raise enough money to install a defibrillator in Leek after a local man died from a sudden cardiac arrest aged just 45 has successfully raised over £3,000.

We reported previously how local resident Daniel Hyde teamed up with the Staffordshire charity AED Donate with the aim of getting a defibrillator installed in the Westwood area of Leek.

Dan launched the campaign in memory of his friend James Lockett, a Leek man who died in 2020 due to a sudden cardiac arrest.

He originally wanted to raise £2,000 to be able to get the defib installed - but the people of Leek have gone above and beyond with their generosity, raising £3,000 which means the Westwood defibrillator can be installed as well as a second defibrillator elsewhere in Leek!

Dan said: "James, known as Jim and Locko, lived on Lorien Close, Leek, and passed away suddenly on November 18th, 2020 aged just 45.

"100,000 people a year die from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), 620 of these are people under the age of 35 and 270 of these deaths happen to children within schools. If defibrillation takes place within the first three minutes of an SCA, the patient's chances of survival increase by upwards of 80%.

"Following on from the great work of Dave Swarbrook [another local resident who has worked to get defibrillators installed around the town], I noticed there was no defibrillator to cover the Westwood area of Leek and that the nearest one is at The Bowling Club or The Prince of Wales Pub, so we want to change this and make sure that more people are covered and protected. The new defibrillator will have 24-hour access to the public and will be sited on the wall/gate of my house on Westwood Park Drive, Leek.

"Having the defibrillator installed means that it can be deployed in a bid to give the patient the all-important shock to the heart prior to the ambulance arrival. The defibrillator is by no means a replacement to the ambulance service, it just allows patient treatment to commence immediately."

Discussing the latest fundraising success, Dan added: "Massive thankyou to everyone who has donated to this and we have now raised over £3,000 meaning we have enough to fit another defibrillator somewhere else in Leek which is brilliant news."

If you would like to contribute to the fundraiser, please visit the fundraising page on the AED Donate website by clicking here.