PEOPLE in Woodland have been given valuable first aid lessons in memory of a much-loved resident.
The village has three defibrillators, two fixed and one mobile, which were sponsored following the death of Peter Wallace after an accident at a horse racing event in Scotland five years ago.
His life may have been saved had there been a heart-start machine available.
His daughter, Anna, said: “I was taking part in the horse race meet in Scotland and dad and my sister, Katie, had come up to support me.”
Ms Wallace was living in Scotland at the time.
In response to Mr Wallace’s death aged 65, his family undertook a fundraising drive at his funeral to fund two fixed defibrillators as well as a mobile device.
One was installed at Woodland Village Hall, near where Mr Wallace lived, while Ms Wallace used the other two in Scotland, taking the mobile machine to race meets.
She said: “I moved back from Scotland two years ago. We realised the defib coverage isn’t so great further along the village at the school. Dad would have really wanted to save them [in an emergency], so we put one up close by at my mam’s house.”
She added that the mobile defib travels around with her sister, Katie, who conducts fitness and taekwondo classes around the dale.
Some 23 people attended the first aid training at Woodland Village Hall last month, which included not only how to use a heart-start machine, but also how to apply chest compressions and how to place a person in the recovery position.
Ms Wallace said: “I was pleased with the turnout. We also had people come from Butterknowle.”
The training was conducted by first responder and volunteer Sue Bainbridge, from Middleton-in-Teesdale.
Ms Bainbridge has carried out similar training sessions at many of Teesdale’s primary schools.
