Our Pateley Bridge branch has donated £250 towards the cost of a life-saving defibrillator which is due to be installed at The Bridge Inn later this year.
We have operated from offices on Pateley Bridge’s High Street since the 1970’s and we are a big supporter of local events and charitable initiatives.
Alison Reilly, from the Pateley Bridge office, says: “We are part of a close-knit and caring rural community and despite having a defibrillator on the high street near our office, this second defibrillator will be located at the pub on Low Wath Road, which is just outside the town centre, and it will be a valuable life-saving addition for our residents and tourists, including the many cyclists and walkers that visit Pateley each year.”
In addition to the donation, both Alison and area manager, Chris O’Mahony, have also signed up to a first aid course which includes defibrillator training and it is due to be run at St Cuthberts Church, Pateley Bridge on Saturday 21st April. Alison also ran a cake stall at a weekend fund-raising event at the pub which raised an additional £172.
A defibrillator is a device that gives a high energy electric shock to the heart through the chest wall of someone who is in cardiac arrest. This high energy shock is called defibrillation, and it's an essential lifesaving step in the chain of survival.
Landlady Caroline Jack, from The Bridge Inn, who is the main fundraiser for the defibrillator says: “We needed to raise £2,000 in total in order to purchase, install and provide community training for the defibrillator. With the generous donations from Dacres, Greenhow Gun Club, DTH Caravan Services, Corrigan and Sons Construction, our very lovely customers here at The Bridge, and a fund-raising event, we smashed that target this weekend. We can’t thank everyone enough for contributing.”
Pateley Bridge has recently been named in a prestigious list of the Best Places to Live in Britain compiled by The Sunday Times, and it also won the ‘Best High Street’ accolade in the Great British High Street awards. With a population of just over 2,000 people, the area is hugely attractive to tourists.
Alison adds: “The town’s rural location, surrounded by stunning countryside, good local amenities, schools and easy access to Harrogate as well as Leeds, make it very popular as a place to both live and visit. The installation of a second defibrillator will no doubt help to save lives and we are delighted to be supporting Caroline with this initiative.”
