A PUBLIC access defibrillator funded by the community to offer a 24/7 lifeline to anyone suffering a cardiac arrest has been relocated from The Lobster Pot restaurant in Upper Hale ahead of the building’s demolition.

Its relocation to the outside wall of Berkeley Sports just a few yards further up Upper Hale Road, comes just weeks after the lifesaving unit was removed without warning by The Lobster Pot developers over ‘health and safety’ fears.

The disappearance of the defibrillator overnight on March 30 sparked a panic that it had been stolen and prompted its funders Heartstart Farnham Lions to call the police as well as widely publicise the ‘theft’ online and in the community.

However, the mystery was solved the following morning when the defibrillator reappeared on the outside wall of the restaurant. Developers Ressance later explained it was temporarily removed on the advice of its health and safety contractor.

A spokesman for Ressance, which has a pending planning application to demolish The Lobster Pot and replace it with a new block of flats, told The Herald: “Our health and safety contractor advised us to take down the defibrillator in case of theft.

“We kept it in the site office overnight for safekeeping but have now put it back as it was, and will explain to the site manager that it needs to remain on the wall of The Lobster Pot in future.”

However, following the incident and in anticipation of The Lobster Pot’s imminent demise, Heartstart Farnham Lions have taken the decision to relocate the defibrillator out of harm’s way.

The group installed the public access defibrillator in March last year with the help of a group of intrepid cyclists who pedalled 1,000 miles in 100 hours to raise funds for the unit. It is currently raising funds for another defibrillator at Hale Village Hall.