A NEW defibrillator will be installed on a Walney street after the last life-saving device was vandalised.

The Walney community rallied together after news that the Douglas Street defibrillator was irreparably damaged in February.

Douglas Street Stores led a donation campaign to replace the equipment, raising £700 towards the installation of a new defibrillator for the street.

Kristian Speirs, team leader at Barrow and Walney First Responders, said he was livid after discovering the defibrillator was damaged by an unknown person.

He said: "These defibrillators have been on the island for over 10 years now and we have had a couple of incidents where kids have messed around with but not when someone has actually broken them."

Call operators sometimes recommend members of the public to use a community defibrillator while someone is suffering from a cardiac arrest to increase their chances of survival.

Upon finding out the Walney community had raised hundreds towards replacing the life-saving device, Mr Speirs and his team donated the remaining £800 to fund the equipment.

He said: "We had a discussion last week at the first responders group where we decided to put the remaining money towards the money that had already been raised.

"It was brilliant to hear how much the Walney community came together in such a short space of time to replace the defib.

"It's testament to their generosity."

Mr Speirs said it will be 'hugely beneficial' to replace the defibrillator in the case of an emergency situation.

"It is a life-saving piece of equipment so it's beneficial to everyone if it's there," he said.

The team is hoping to replace the defibrillators within the next few months.