Vandals damage life-saving defibrillator
Yobs have vandalised a life-saving defibrillator in a Staffordshire town taking it out of 24/7 use.
The attackers damaged the cabinet that protects the defibrillator based outside the Co-op store on High Street, Stone.
The casing was broken in two places which resulted in the device being left open to the elements and the keypad used to access it partly unreachable.
The defibrillator has now been moved inside the Co-op making it available for community use only when the store is open.
West Midlands Ambulance Service community response manager Matt Heward said: "It is extremely disappointing to discover the damage that has been caused and the fact the defibrillator is not going to be available around-the-clock.
"Stone is a busy area and somewhere we are hoping to install more defibrillators. Unfortunately, money that has been raised to go towards those will now have to be spent on replacing the casing that has been damaged by the vandalism."
It is not yet known how long it will take to replace the cabinet and have the defibrillator available on a 24-hour basis.
