A unit for a defibrillator at a football club has been vandalised just a day after it was put in place there
A life-saving piece of equipment has been vandalised just a day after it was installed at a football club.
It also follows a separate incident of vandalism involving a Christmas tree in the same community.
The defribillator at Mumbles Rangers FC was vandalised on Friday night.
The club’s chairman Chris Parkin said: “I am absolutely sick to the core that some louts should think of doing something like this.
“The amount of work that has gone into this defibrillator is incredible.”
Fortunately the £1,000 device itself was inside the Underhill Park clubhouse when the box, fixed to the building’s exterior, was targeted.
'The box has been smashed up'
Mr Parkin, who said he has reported the incident to the police, said the box cost around £500 and had to be wired up.
“The box has been smashed up — there are wires everywhere, and bits of blood,” he said. “We are looking for parts around the park.”
He said a dog-walker had notified him of the damage on Saturday morning.
A defibrillator is a device which can be used by the public to give an electric shock to someone who is in cardiac arrest. The way it is stored inside the box is crucial to its proper functioning.
'This is deplorable'
Mr Parkin said Julie Thomas, of Mumbles — the mother of former Swansea and Aberavon RFC rugby player Jonny Thomas — had pledged to contribute £1,000 for the defibrillator.
Oystermouth councillor Tony Colburn said he and Newton councillor Miles Thomas would contribute money from their environmental grants — money given to all councillors to spend on local projects — to replace the cabinet, if it was not covered by insurance.
“This is deplorable, when the people who have done this knew full well what it was for,” said Mr Colburn.
Earlier this week a Christmas tree opposite the White Rose pub in Mumbles was vandalised, as it was last year.
Mumbles Community Council, which funded and installed the tree, have had to pay electrical contractors to repair the damage.
Council chairwoman Helen Mitchell said: “The council feels very disheartened that this act of vandalism has occurred again this year, as do residents who enjoy the festive tree.
“The police have been informed and are investigating. I hope that there may be some witnesses to this incident.”
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/football-club-sick-core-after-12268755
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