A STANFORD mum has helped introduce life-saving technology into the community.

Charlotte Yoxall, 34, has raised over £2,500 to bring the first publically accessible automated external defibrillator into the community.

It will be housed at the Rising Sun pub in Church Hill, Stanford.

The machine itself is being donated by Arrhythmia Alliance’s Hearts and Goals campaign and as Charlotte has smashed her initial target of £1,500 another AED will be housed at Treetops School, in Grays, where she works.

Charlotte’s nine-year-old daughter, Katie, suffers from a heart rhythm condition and is the reason Charlotte has pushed so hard for this technology to be introduced locally. Plans are under way for more at nearby Horndon and Corringham. There are also plans to expand into Basildon.

Charlotte, whose work saw her recognised as Volunteer of the Year at the recent Stanford Festival, said: “Everyone in the community has been fantastic in helping us raise the funds for this and it’s clear they really appreciate just how important it is that we have these lifesaving devices.

“Katie is such an amazing girl and she has really inspired me.

“Her heart problem made me alive to the issue”

The defibrillator will be accessible 24/7 in a locked cabinet. In an emergency you would phone 999 and be given immediate access to the device.

Defibrillators can be used by anyone to shock a person’s heart back into rhythm in the event of cardiac arrest.