Dad launches campaign to have defibrillator installed at Peterborough WakePark

The project was officially launched this week and aims to raise £2000 which will allow a defribillator to be installed outside of Peterborough Wakepark’s clubhouse at the centre of Hampton water country park.

The report which inspired Matthew contained details of an eight-year-old boy who successfully performed CPR on his father when he collapsed while on a walk.

This got him thinking about what his own son would do in that situation.

He said: “It made me cry to see a child of that age put in that situation. It really got me thinking about my son who is the same age.

“I used to live in Yaxley and there is plenty of access to defibrillators there but not so much in Hampton, we really need one in Hampton East.”

Matthew, who is Technical Advisor to the chairman of the Hampton Water Residents Association, has teamed up with AEGdonate to deliver the project. They are a charity set up in 2014 and have since helped facilitate the placement of over 1400 defribrillators across the country.

AEG estimate that approximately 100,000 people a year are killed in the UK because of sudden cardiac arrests.

Despite the recent launch, the total donations have already exceed £500 and it is hoped that the defibrillator will be in place by the end of the year.

Peterborough WakePark are onboard with the project, as are the local ambulance service, to whom the device would be registered with.

Matthew added: “It’s very difficult to do any fundraising at the moment. Our ideal scenario would to be to hold a dragon boat race on the lake but we will have to wait until the guidelines allow it.

“We are instead holding a socially distanced party for residents on the local cricket pitch on Saturday and will try to raise some funds there.

“With the backdrop of the lake and trees, it is a beautiful place to walk and the site has seen increased footfall recently. This is why the project will be beneficial to the community and the Residents Association are 100% behind it.” Anyone who has any fundraising ideas or wishes to donate can do so via this link.