Life-saving defibrillator equipment installed at home of Chesterfield junior football club

Lee Rowley, MP for NE Derbyshire, was present at the commissioning of the defibrillator at the home ground of Wingerworth Junior Sports Association (WJSA) at The Avenue, Wingerworth.

The ‘defib’ unit is positioned at the gates of the ground so that it is also available to the local community around the clock.

The ground is used for matches and training by all the WJSA age groups and their teams, which include girl and boys, from Under 6s to Under 16 – so the defibrillator unit could potentially be a crucial piece of equipment for both players and supporters if ever they need it..

Darren Parkinson, WJSA chairman, explained that the club had been discussing the need for a defibrillator for some time but the cost of the equipoment had proved a stumbling block.

He said: “The incident in the Euro2020 with Christian Eriksen refocused our thoughts so we were thrilled to be able to proceed due to an extremely generous donation from Leverton UK.

Geoff Lord, Club President and Child Welfare Officer added: “We needed to ensure that the defib is used effectively, so we are grateful to the Community Save-A-Life Scheme (CSALS) who are organising face-to-face training for a group of our coaches and parents and offering a free online course.

"The club has a duty of care for our children and young people so the defib awareness and training is an important part of our responsibilities in this area.”