North East charity continuing work to get defibs at every UK football stadium
A campaign called 'One In Every Corner' will see life-saving equipment installed
A North East charity who provides life-saving defibrillators is continuing its work with football clubs across the North East and Teesside.
A campaign called 'One In Every Corner' will see the equipment installed at every stadium across the UK.
It is coming to Middlesbrough's Riverside next season and there are already some in Hartlepool and South Shields, as well as Newcastle and Sunderland.
Sergio Petrucci is from the Red Sky Foundation and he said: "It's not just the big clubs, it's also the smaller ones that we're looking after, so really we're encouraging as many people and as many football supporters to get behind the campaign, even if they could help us and donate £1 towards it, it'll help get these defibrillators in there soon rather than later.
"It's something that's going really well because we have the support of so many football supporters across the UK; not just the supporters but the players and the clubs are getting involved as well. It's recognising the fact that we really can make a difference if we pull together.
"When fans are leaving or approaching stadiums, it means that there's going to be a lot of crowds there and with crowds, generally speaking, sometimes there's a medical emergency but if we can make sure that those crowds and those stadiums are well equipped 24/7, that really does make a difference to help save someone's life in a medical emergency.
"The campaign has been really, really well received not just by supporters but also players, officials and also executives from the football clubs. We're excited as soon as the phone goes to say that people need new pads to replace them, we always want to know has it been a great outcome? Has the person survived? It is the difference between life and eath.
"Football clubs are the places where people long for the weekend so they can go and watch their favourite teams play and we believe that if these teams are getting behind the campaign we know that more lives will be saved. They have such a great following; the fan groups and the supporter clubs, they're all engaging in it."