A CONCERTED COMMUNITY effort to become CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) trained is gathering speed in Box, with a new defibrillator to be installed in the coming weeks.

More than 50 people from the village have been given free CPR training, courtesy of 10 dummies and a CPR training DVD from the British Heart Foundation, thanks to a group of mums wanting to make Box a safer and more proactive place.

Courtesy of local benefactors, firms and fundraising, a near £2,000 defibrillator could be installed at Box’s Co-op by the end of May.

One of the key contributors to this initiative, Tricia Simpson, of Box, said that a few weeks into the training, one of the mums behind this initiative, Anita Quintana, used her CPR training on her mum after she collapsed. The ambulance crew said her actions almost certainly saved her life.

“My friend Anita saved her mum’s life just a few weeks after using the CPR she had learned. This is an inspiring story and has really incentivised people to come on board and be ready if anything like this happens again,” said Mrs Simpson.

“You hear about these things but when it happens to someone you know, this training can literally save a life. Anita’s husband was in awe of what she did and my husband is now coming to the next class.

“”It is working out brilliantly.much better than I thought. People have been galvanised by Anita’s story and that is great.”

This project began in June 2015 with a small collective of people but today that collective has swelled to dozens.

“We thought it would be a good idea and we could make a difference and this has shown that we can. It is fantastic to get so many people involved,” said Mrs Simpson.

“We have asked the parish council to get the defibrillator on our behalf. Hopefully it will be up and running by the end of the month but, if not, at least in June.

“What is great is that the other founders of this project, Lorraine Simpson and Juliette Slight, are trained in CPR and are there to help people if they have extra questions or if the DVD does not cover something."

“The incentive for us is to keep pushing on and do what we can for the place.”