Oswestry newspaper campaign raises £6,000 to get town five defibrillators

The Oswestry and Border Chronicle has successfully campaigned to get its town five defibrillators.

Less than a year after the Chronicle launched its 'Keeping Oswestry Alive' campaign in conjunction with the British Heart Foundation and West Midland Ambulance Service, the newspaper has raised £6,000.

In addition to donations from companies, staff from the Midland News Association paper have run marathons and packed bags in supermarkets to raise the money.

It now means that no one in Oswestry town centre is more than 200 metres away from a defibrillator.

The drive was launched by the Chronicle's associate editor, Graham Breeze, and advertisement manager Dave Lee-Birch following the closure of the town's ambulance station.

“There was a remarkable response to our appeal,” said Breeze. “The BHF helped with part-funding but we needed to raise £6,000 and our readers and advertisers came up with the goods.

“It has been a very rewarding campaign. We came up with the plan after the town’s ambulance station closed. If just one life is saved it will prove worthwhile. We believe that every town should have its own network of defibrillators in place.”

The fortnightly Oswestry and Border Chronicle recorded an average circulation of 11,397 last year, according to ABC.

Topics in this article : Midland News Association