Chesterfield landlord fundraises for defibrillator after heart attack scare outside pub

Daniel Denton, landlord of the Sun Inn on West Bars

A landlord at a Chesterfield pub is raising money for a community defibrillator, after a worrying incident where a man walking past the pub was feared to have suffered a cardiac arrest.

Daniel Denton, landlord of the Sun Inn on West Bars, is hoping to raise £1500 towards a community defibrillator outside of his pub.

According to HeartSafe’s map, the nearest defibrillators to the pub would be at the University of Derby’s St Helena Campus on Sheffield Road, and Chester Street in Brampton. Mr Denton said this became a real concern when a customer suffered what appeared to be a cardiac arrest last week.

“We had to go and get a defibrillator last week, but we didn't have to use it, thank God.”

The landlord at the Sun Inn is hoping to raise £1500 to install a community defibrillator outside the pub.

“At Halloween, we had a man pass out after having some breathing difficulties- we had to phone the ambulance, someone had to run down and get the defibrillator, but it was too far to run there and back. He was okay, he had just passed out, but after that, we’ve really started pushing to help raise the money for one outside the pub.

“We’re taking it on ourselves to get a defibrillator now, because you don’t know when you’re going to need one at the end of the day- there needs to be more than two in the town centre.”

On Tuesday, November 30, a team from the Sun Inn will take on a 12 mile walk at Edale. Of the donations they recieve, 50% will go towards the defibrillator fund, and the other half will be given to Chasing the Stigma, a mental health charity.

Mr Denton’s pub is not alone in their fundraising mission. Some 140 venues owned by Hawthorn: The Community Pub Company are aiming to reach the same £1500 target to raise money for defibrillators in their own towns and villages.

Mr Denton said: “There's not enough defibrillators out there, so we’ve all come together as community pubs to raise money for them, from Glasgow down to Southampton.”

If more than £1500 is raised, Mr Denton said he will donate the rest to securing more defibrillators at other locations in Chesterfield. Donation buckets and raffle tickets can be found inside the Sun Inn.