TWO life-saving devices have been installed in Weymouth ahead of what is expected to be a busy summer period.
A Weymouth family have donated two defibrillators - with one installed at The Front Skatepark, in Preston Beach Road, while the other has been fitted further east at Overcombe Corner.
Wanting to remain anonymous, the family stated they were motivated to make the donation following the 30th anniversary of their father's death. He died as the result of a car accident on Preston Beach Road in September 1991.
Lisa Kille, manager of The Front Skatepark, said: "It was installed in late January.
"The deliberators were donated by the family after their father died in a car accident on the beach road 30 years ago.
"It's such a lovely thing to do. I know of one young boy who comes to the skatepark has a heart condition. When his mum found out we'd had a device installed she was ecstatic.
"All of our staff are trained in first aid, but to have one on site will be very handy for us and the surrounding area.
"The family have also donated a second device, which has been installed on the wall at Airtime (formally Secondwind Windsurf & Watersports) in Overcombe.
"The Greenhill area will see a lot of visitors coming to the beach front in the summer, so to have two nearby will be peace of mind.
"It's also good to highlight where these life-saving pieces of equipment are located."
Ms Killie said the defibs were fitted for free by C&N Electrical Services on Portland.
The family said: "This was purely something we wanted to do to mark the 30th anniversary of our dad passing away as the result of a tragic car accident on Preston Beach Road in 1991.
"A chance opportunity arose to fit one to Airtime near to Café Oasis.
"We then approached The Front Skatepark to offer a further unit there as they are a great local youth charity.
"Both sites have very prominent locations to the beach and surrounding areas, and both units are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"We approached Nick Gault from C&N Electrical to fit the units, who very kindly donated his time to the project to get the units installed at both sites.
"With thousands of visitors to the area, the thought that these AEDs (automated external defibrillator) could potentially save lives near to where his accident happened was the perfect way to honour his memory.
"We're very thankful to both locations for allowing us to mark the donations with a plaque in dad's memory."
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