A NORTHERN Irish business is offering a replacement for a defibrillator stolen from Bookham High Street. .
Thieves stole the newly installed Public Access Defibrillator (Pad) from a cabinet outside Rawlings and Kensett Butchers on January 6, prompting local businesses to launch a fundraising drive to replace it.
However, Belfast-based company Heartsine has now offered to provide a replacement free of charge, meaning there can now be defibrillators at either end of the High Street.
Mole Valley district councillor Paul Newman, owner of Ken Davey Butchers, said: "It is absolutely fantastic news.
"It just goes to show that even though we have suffered at the hands of mindless individuals there are still some good people out there.
"I spoke to one of the sales managers in Northern Ireland and he does not even live in the village but has still gone above and beyond in helping us.
"Having these two machines placed strategically at either end of the village will potentially save lives.
"It is a massive deal and we are all very happy."
Mr Newman and several other shopkeepers have organised a raffle to fund their own replacement Pad, with the draw due to be made on Saturday.
The stolen device, which can deliver a shock to restart a heart in cardiac arrest, was funded by the Rotary Club of Bookham and Horsley using a legacy left by Horsley pharmacist Bob King.
It was installed last year on the spot of an earlier unsuccessful resuscitation attempt.
Heartsine European sales manager John McMurtry said: "The device which we are donating is the top of the range, the very best model that we offer, at around £1,600.
"We are the only UK manufacturer of these Pads and every now and then I come across a community which, through no fault of its own, has been taken for granted.
"It's not anyone who comes to us with a sob story who gets one but, when a community has made the effort to help their own and some scumbags come along and ruin it, we are happy to help out.
"Villages cannot afford to spend that sort of money and have it wasted. What these criminals have done is as bad as mugging an elderly person at Christmas. It just is not on."
