Olivia Tobin
8 April, 2025
News

Life-saving defibrillators in memory of Hartlepool cricketer installed at Teesside site

Two life-saving defibrillators, installed in memory of a Hartlepool cricketer, have been set up at Marine Point, Teesside.

Christopher Neal, Teesside Sales Director Designate and Pam and Bill Shurmer at Marine Point

The devices have been installed on-site for the public to use in an emergency. Persimmon has worked in partnership with the local authority to install the defibrillators, making the devices accessible to beach-goers and the community.

DS43 Community Defibrillators was launched by Pam and Bill Shurmer in memory of their son, Danny.

Danny Shurmer, a popular cricketer from Hartlepool, died from a cardiac arrest at the age of 43 in 2021.

The charity, set up in his memory, has funded and installed 81 public defibrillators in the town.

Christopher Neal, Teesside Sales Director Designate, said: “We are delighted to have these life-saving defibrillators here at Marine Point. When we build homes, we are passionate about serving the local community in a number of ways.

“Pam and Bill are doing incredible work to educate people about how easy these devices are to use and we are proud to help support DS43 Community Defibrillators.”

Parm Shurmer said: “Our Charity aims to ensure everyone in the town is within a 350m radius (as the crow flies) of a Public Access Defibrillator with availability 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

“New-build estates present a challenge for us, as the town continues to expand, we would like to see all new housing estates have equal access to these life-saving devices.

“We would like to thank Persimmon for helping us to achieve our objective at Marine Point and hope to work with them on future new builds in Hartlepool.

“Anyone who would like to know more about us our charity should visit our website."

Head to: ds43communitydefibrillators.org.uk