A DISUSED telephone box in Bishop Auckland has become a potentially lifesaving facility after a community group invested time and money in transforming the structure into a defibrillator station.

The new piece of technology, which will be located on Market Place in the town, will service members of the public in a medical emergency and will act as vital amenity if it’s ever required.

Installed by the Angel Trust, the community group have a long track record of helping residents in Bishop Auckland, which has seen them help the most vulnerable in society within County Durham and Darlington.

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The list of projects that the Trust have been involved in include supplying items to those most in need, helping sport clubs, as well as delivering 5000 toys to children at Christmas and 3000 Easter eggs to youngsters in April each year.

In total, the project took eight months to complete after having to complete the correct paperwork, but, on Friday (February 25), it was unveiled by Julie, Beryl, and Clair from the Angel Trust, who highlighted the importance of the defibrillators.

The piece of lifesaving kit will now become the nearest defibrillator in the centre of Bishop Auckland, and will be nearby to many pubs, restaurants, shops, and attractions.

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Clair McGregor, from the Angel Trust said: “The project began after it was announced that the phone box at the Market Place would be scrapped, and we knew we wanted to do something with it.

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“With the regeneration that’s going on, there could be plenty more people on the streets, and the need to keep them safe is at the forefront of what we do.”

Another of the projects that the Angel Trust finds itself involved in is a memorial bench for four-year-old Lennox Railton-Craggs, who sadly lost his life in an off-road biking incident in Bishop Auckland in January of this year.

According to Clair, these are the kinds of initiatives that are “at the forefront of the community,” and ones that the Trust want to carry on doing for years to come.

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She added: “The community usually get in touch with what they need help with, and our board of trustees go through the applications and decide on which ones will progress.

“This has been a mammoth task to convert the telephone box, but it’s now worth it. We grant wishes in County Durham and Darlington, and we’re hoping this defib can help those in Bishop Auckland.

“While we hope it’s not used, it’s there in an emergency situation.”

People can find out more about the Angel Trust here.

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