Police are investigating the suspected theft of a defibrillator from a business park.

The defibrillator, which was installed at Unit 2 of Wigton’s Miller Business Park in 2020, was reported missing on April 9, 2024.

But Martin Turner, who runs neighbouring unit Tynedale, said he knew it was missing since late last year, roughly around September when construction work started.

He said he reported it to the police six weeks ago and was told it’s unlikely it was stolen as ‘people recognise their importance for the community’.

However, a police spokesperson said the missing defibrillator was logged on April 9 as a theft incident.

That same day, Gary Thwaite, manager of G&S Fitness, a gym which previously occupied Unit 2 but left in March 2023, issued a statement on social media, calling on anybody with information about the defibrillator’s whereabouts, which he said had ‘mysteriously’ gone missing, adding that there was a recent incident on Fell View where first responders required the defibrillator but couldn’t use it.

Mr Thwaite and Mr Turner raised funds together for the defibrillator in 2020, with the former then explaining its importance: “If an ambulance doesn’t get here in time and you can save someone it’s really important.”

G&S Fitness held a coffee morning and a raffle to fundraise their part of the money.

Tynedale Farm raised money through their 50th-anniversary celebrations in the summer of 2018.

During an event for long-standing staff, an auction was held and all money raised during the celebration evening went towards buying the new defibrillator.

It is understood that Mr Turner bought the defibrillator as he raised the lion’s share of the funds.

Northwest Ambulance Service (NWAS) explained that paramedics always have a defibrillator on them and mounted units on walls are the responsibility of the owner.

A spokesperson on behalf of the park’s landlord said that on October 6 last year, kitchen furniture store Howdens came in, and appointed contractors to do necessary refit works, fencing off units 2-4 prior.

The fencing was not particularly secure, they said, and it wasn’t staffed overnight, and no CCTV is in operation, so it’s possible it was stolen by a member of the public.

They added that occupants concerned would have walked past Unit 2 and the defibrillator’s location daily, and asked why it has taken until now to appeal for its whereabouts.

The ‘most logical sequence of events’, they said, should have been noticing it was missing, reporting it to the police, securing a crime number, and contacting the insurance company to report the theft and submit a claim for a replacement defibrillator.

A spokesperson from Cumbria police said that from the information they have, it has gone missing at some point this year, between January 1 and April 8.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the police.

You can report online at www.cumbria.police.uk/reportit quoting the incident number.
You can also phone on 101.

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.