UPDATE: Defibrillator Cabinet Smashed

Following further inspection, the fabric of the cabinet was, thankfully, found to be undamaged. As a result of Sevenoaks Community First Responders highlighting the incident, Cardiac Science have very generously offered to supply, free of charge, a replacement cover for the cabinet.

Thank you to Sevenoaks CFR for highlighting the incident and to Cardiac Science for this wonderful gesture. The help of both of these organisations is very much appreciated!

As soon as the cover has arrived we will fit it and return the defibrillator to its rightful place.

At some point on Saturday evening or the early hours of Sunday morning this weekend (16th/17th February) the heated cabinet which houses the defibrillator outside The Bed Shop and Bojangles Coffee Shop on the shopping parade on London Road was smashed.

The defibrillator itself was not stolen and is being looked after by the team at Bojangles until such time as the Parish Council can arrange for a replacement cabinet to be purchased and installed. We hope to do this as soon as possible but realistically it is likely to take several weeks to source and install.

This act of mindless violence is not just an act of criminal damage. The now limited availability of that defibrillator unit could cost someone their life.

Dunton Green Parish Council has, over the last few years, purchased and installed three defibrillators in the village. Access to them is unrestricted in order to ensure that there are no delays calling for codes if they are needed in an emergency.

Whilst the defibrillator on the parade is, for now, only accessible during Bojangles’ opening hours there is a defibrillator on the wall of the pavilion building in the recreation ground and one on the outside of the village hall, further along London Road.

If you have any information regarding the damage to this cabinet please report it. You can call the Police on 101 or use Kent Police’s online reporting tool https://www.kent.police.uk/services/report-online/ or you can call CrimeStoppers on 0800 555111or use their online tool https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information.