A group of traders who clubbed together to buy a defibrillator, fearing their shops were too far from the nearest one, have saved a person’s life within three weeks of its installation.

Shopkeepers in Dorchester’s Durngate Street were shocked when another trader in their street moved to different premises – and took the defibrillator she had installed with her.

So they set about raising the £1,900 needed to install a new one, getting £1,100 from Dorchester Business Improvement District (DBID) and splitting the rest of the cost among themselves.

Andrea Smith from The Hair Gallery said: “For every minute that someone’s in cardiac arrest without receiving CPR and having a defibrillator used on them, their chance of survival decreases by 10%. That’s why it’s so important to act immediately.

“We worked out it would take about seven minutes to retrieve the nearest defibrillator and thought we must do something about that.”
Lisa Ryall from Dorchester Aesthetics said: “It’s just fantastic that the defibrillator was nearby and could help a patient so quickly after being installed. We are all so chuffed that it worked.

“We couldn’t believe it when the last defibrillator was removed. We had people coming in the shop to look for it.
“So we approached the BID, who agreed to help.”

There are other machines at Wetherspoon’s, Goulds and the Post Office, funded by the BID, and others at County Hall and Boots. But the machine at Boots, nearest Durngate Street, is only accessible during opening hours.

As the incident happened on a Saturday evening it was lucky the Durngate Street machine was there.

The full list of traders who contributed is: Heather Hair, iFacial Dorset, The Hair Gallery, Vaper Star, Aspects Picture Framing and Interiors, Fudge’s Wool, Potters Café, AT Photographic Studio, Walnut Grove café and Dorchester Aesthetics.