Security firm hailed as 'heroes' after donating CCTV to protect life-saving kit

Sedgley and Upper Gornal St John Ambulance unit were left devastated after a defibrillator and bleed kit was stolen from outside Upper Gornal Methodist Church in March.

It marked the second defibrillator theft from the site, and while the equipment was later returned, unit chiefs were concerned it would be pinched again.

Now bosses at Wolverhampton-based firm Eagle Eye Security UK have stepped in to ramp up security at the site.

The business, which is based in Bushbury, joined forces with JMC Secure wholesalers to donate and install a state-of-the-art CCTV system to ensure the equipment is monitored 24 hours a day.

Carl Brown, co-owner and director of Eagle Eye Security UK, said: "My colleague Lee Price and I were shocked and saddened to hear that something as vital as a defibrillator had been stolen for a second time in three years.

"Alongside JMC Secure wholesalers, we were pleased to be able to donate and install a CCTV system at the church, ensuring the lifesaving equipment is being monitored 24 hours a day."

St John Ambulance Dudley area president, Councillor Adam Aston, said the security firm were "heroes". He added: "A defibrillator is used to deliver a shock to the heart of someone in cardiac arrest and it has one use … to save a life.

"It was soul destroying to find someone had forced open the cabinet and taken it as well as a bleed kit donated to us by the Daniel Baird Foundation.

"We were absolutely thrilled to hear from Carl and Lee with their offer to install a CCTV system at the church."

The region has seen a spate of defibrillator thefts in recent years, including one being nicked from outside St Columba United ReformED Church in Wolverhampton at the end of March.

The equipment costs around £1,000 to replace.