FARNHAM Lions has recently installed the third of the three defibrillators financed by the intrepid group of six cyclists, who last summer undertook to ride 1,000 miles in 100 hours for charity, finishing with their entry into last year’s Farnham Carnival Parade.

Following on the heels of the first two installed outside The Lobster Pot in Upper Hale and in the Conservative Club car park in Ivy Lane the third unit was installed on the front of Martins Garage, the VW dealership on the corner of West Street/Crondall Lane.

Farnham currently has seven defibrillators in place. In addition to the three mentioned, the other four are located on the front of the fire station building, outsude the Farnham Town Council offices, The Maltings and the St John Ambulance office in The Hart.

Another is due to be at St Peter’s School in Wrecclesham plus some interest in one in Rowledge. Due to the publicity for the work undertaken by Farnham Lions in establishing the ’Farnham Initiative’, the Lions were contacted by Professor Tom Quinn, the volunteer clinical director of Heartstart Farnham Lions, following an offer from Selectamark Security Systems plc, a security marking company, to provide support.

Surrey Police suggested the use of the system as an ideal way to protect the defibrillators. Managing director James Brown suffered the loss of his wife to a cardiac arrest following a 10km road race in central London.

As a result he became involved in a heart charity Cardias Risk in the Young, and became aware of the importance of defibrillators. After becoming aware of the project in Farnham, he agreed to introduce the marking system and deterrent warning signs, to reduce the likelihood of theft from their visually prominent positions.

The system has been accepted by the police and each marking system has its own unique DNA registered on the SelectaDNA database, which in turn enables the police to identify the owner of any stolen item once marked.

Selectamark agreed to donate the marking kit to Farnham Lions to protect all seven installations and the marking of these seven units has now been completed.

Professor Quinn said: “I am delighted that we have been able to draw on James’ expert advice, as recommended by Surrey Police, to safeguard our community’s defibrillators and ensure they are truly ‘public access’.

“Every second counts when a person has a cardiac arrest, and we want any member of the community to be able to access the equipment in an emergency, in the same way they would a fire extinguisher. Having our equipment DNA marked by SelectaDNA means we don’t have to rely on locked cabinets, which can cause unnecessary delay.”

SelectaDNA can be used by any organisation from large commercial enterprises to small domestic applications. A special 10 per cent discount code has been set up for Farnham residents, which can be redeemed online (www.selectadna.co.uk) using ‘DNAFARN10’.