Burntwood woman gets two defibrillators installed in Aldridge in memory of her brother
Two life-saving defibrillators have been installed in a town in memory of a loving brother who died from an undiagnosed heart condition.
Rachel Dingle, 31, from Burntwood, has been raising money for defibrillators ever since her brother Alex Brown, from Wolverhampton, died suddenly in April 2015.
Rachel got the first of her life-saving defibs installed in Wolverhampton last year and followed it up with the placement of another outside a pub in Rowley Regis earlier this year.
Now Rachel has turned her attention to Aldridge, Walsall, where she has got two installed - one outside the gates of Aldridge High School and the other outside the Co-op on Walsall Wood Road.
She took part in the London to Brighton cycle ride to raise the money for the Co-op defibrillator while the funds for the one outside the school came from the Aviva community fund after Rachel was nominated by an anonymous businessman from Aldridge.
She said: "A massive thank you to everyone who made this possible. The lovely London to Brighton Cycle team last year who completed the gruelling but fun 54 mile cycle to the coast and a thank you to everyone who sponsored them too.
"One big thank you goes to a complete stranger who owns a business in Aldridge (R.H.N RILEY insurances). He read the letter I hand delivered to all the shops in Aldridge and selflessly took the time out to nominate me for the Aviva community fund. With thanks to everyone who clicked on that link last year and voted for CRYALEX, you also made this install possible."
Rachel has been getting the defibrillators installed with the help of charity AED Donate, based in Stone, Staffordshire.
Chief executive Jamie Richards said: "We are incredibly thankful to Rachel for all her hard work and fundraising.
"We are a charity that places defibrillators into the community. We have worked with Rachel Dingle who has done the fundraising for the two new defibrillators after she lost her brother to sudden cardiac arrest. Through her fundraising in memory of her brother Alex she has already donated several defibrillators plus now the two in Aldridge. We also have one going into Tettenhall shortly as well.
"We have got about 850 out into the community now but we are only scratching the surface.
"If anyone wants to fundraise or help us then please give us a call or visit the website. There is only four of us so it is difficult to spread the word."
