David Hazelwood (Straits Mobility), Keiran Casey, Cllr Adam Aston, Andrew Horton (Changing Rooms) TWO Dudley businesses have contributed to the replacement of two defibrillators that were stolen in February. David Hazelwood from Straits Mobility in Dudley has donated money to cover the costs of one defibrillator and Dean Perks from Changing Rooms in Upper Gornal has donated a new storage cabinet. The two pieces of life saving equipment were taken within days of each other, one was taken from the wall of Upper Gornal Methodist Church and the other taken from the wall outside Brooklands Amateur Boxing Club in Woodsetton..
Cllr Adam Aston at the scene of the latest defibrillator theft at Brooklands ABC, Woodsetton A ST John Ambulance volunteer and Dudley councillor has called for a change in the law following a spate of thefts of lifesaving defibrillators across the borough. Councillor Adam Aston, who also works as a paramedic for West Midlands Ambulance Service, has set up an online petition calling on the Government to categorise the theft of medical or lifesaving equipment as aggravated offences which carry a heftier sentence in law. Responding to the recent theft of two public access defibrillators belonging to St John Ambulance, within his own Upper Gornal and Woodsetton ward, he said “Without a doubt, the damage or theft of equipment such as defibrillators, bleed kits or buoyancy aids puts lives at risk and I think the law should recognise this.