A new publicly accessible defibrillator has been installed in Brierley Hill High Street in time to mark 12 months since a local duo saved a life in the town. 

The defibrillator and lockable cabinet have been installed in the town’s high street near the entrance to the market – just over the road from the Moor Centre where local butcher Gordon Tranter and then student nurse Olivia Hanson gave CPR to a shopper last June. 

Organised by local Councillor Adam Davies, the life-saving equipment has been installed thanks to support from Andy Jeynes of West Midlands Ambulance Service who donated the defibrillator, local business Alan Warwick Butchers who donated the cabinet and carry case, and members of the public who gave donations at a CPR training session organised by Cllr Davies and Andy Jeynes last October which has gone towards spare batteries. 

Local electrician Aaron Perks, from Approved Electrical Midlands, once again gave his services free of charge to wire in and fit the alarmed and temperature-controlled cabinet. Mr Perks also recently installed the town’s other new defibrillator at the opposite end of the high street outside Brierley Hill Civic Hall. Cllr Davies said: 

“It’s so fitting that we’re able to mark 12 months since Gordon and Olivia’s heroics with this new easily accessible defibrillator right in the heart of the town.

“I have to give a really big thank you to Andy from the ambulance service, Tony from Alan Warwick Butchers, Aaron from Approved Electrical Midlands, and the members of the public who donated at our training session last October. Without all of their support, this just wouldn’t have been possible”. 

The defibrillator is registered on the national defibrillator network known as The Circuit, meaning anyone needing to access the cabinet just needs to call 999 and an operator will provide the access code. Gordon Tranter, the popular local butcher who helped save the life last June and works for Alan Warwick Butchers, said: 

“There wasn’t a defibrillator in the town last June so me and Olivia just had to do our best with CPR and hope it was enough. Thankfully it was enough on that day and the lady survived, but we know having a defibrillator will give anyone in the same situation in the future an even better chance.

“Obviously the defibrillator won’t work itself, it stills needs someone to step forward and use it. Yes, it takes something inside of you to say, ‘come on, just try’, but to think you can help save someone’s life so they see their family again is just amazing. I’ll never forget that day for as long as I live.”