April 20 2016.


Heart attack victim Paul Harris was today reunited with the off-duty fireman who administered CPR on him. Paul suffered a heart attack in February, but fireman Darran Sampson was on hand to offer first aid until paramedics, Glen and Garry, arrived at the scene to take over and transport Paul to hospital.

They all met up earlier today at The Ark pub in Newhaven, where landlady Penny Cronin has been fundraising for a defibrillator.

Nigel Ring from the Seahaven Responders heard about the fundraising effort and, having recently had a new unit donated through the Mayor of Newhaven's fundraising efforts, agreed to release it's replacement into the community.

The fundraising of both the pub and Mayor Steve Saunders is continuing, and Steve is hoping to raise enough funds to replace another of the Responders' units and release another defibrillator into the community.

"It would be great to see these life-saving kits available all around the town," said Steve. "Paul now has his own defibrillator and also has a pacemaker fitted, so hopefully the Paramedics won't need to be called in to help him again in the near future. I would like to say a huge thank you to the local ambulance crews, especially Glen and Gerry, as well as to Darran for his selfless dedication," continued Steve after handing over the defibrillator with Nigel.

Nigel added: "Penny's commitment to raising more money is a fantastic help towards ensuring we can get more units out there."