Bury St Edmunds town centre has new life-saving equipment thanks to team effort including Verve, Our Bury St Edmunds and businessman Paul Hicklin

Lives could be saved thanks to new equipment that has been installed in a key area for the night-time economy in Bury St Edmunds.

The defibrillator at Verve restaurant and bar in Woolhall Street was made possible thanks to a printer cartridge recycling scheme organised by local businessman Paul Hicklin, a donation from a town councillor’s locality budget and support from the Business Improvement District (BID) organisation Our Bury St Edmunds.

Also, Verve provided the space and electrical requirements and contributed to the cost of installation.

Wes Roper, who owns Verve, said: “Although there are a number of 24-hour accessible defibrillators in the town, I felt it was important to have one in an area that is extremely busy at night.”

He added: “We are very grateful to all those who have generously supported the project.”

The 24-hour public access defibrillator is the first in the town to be installed since the printer cartridge recycling scheme was launched at the Apex with the support of arc shopping centre.

The scheme provides special bins for ink and toner cartridges, which are available at the Apex, and the money raised pays for the installation and upkeep of local defibrillators.

Mr Hicklin, from Bury St Edmunds, who has provided the collection bins through his Mildenhall-based business Compleat Office Solutions, said: “I’ve been committed to increasing the number of defibrillators available for public use in memory of my father and so I am delighted to see another one installed in the town centre.

“Through this recycling scheme we are reducing waste, raising funds and ultimately providing the opportunity save lives.”

Mike Kirkham from the BID has been working with Mr Hicklin for a number of years to enable several defibrillators to be installed across the town centre. He said: “Paul’s commitment to this has meant we’ve been able to significantly increase the number of defibrillators available in Bury St Edmunds – and they are listed on the Our Bury St Edmunds map and our LoyalFree app too.

“It meant when discussing with Wes about providing another in Woolhall Street we had a blueprint to make it happen. I can’t thank Paul and his colleagues at Compleat Office Solutions enough for their ongoing support and the locality budget that the Town Council makes available to its councillors.”

He has also been delighted with the number of businesses taking advantage of the BID’s free first aid course which includes how to use a defibrillator, but added it makes all the difference when one is within easy reach in an emergency.

-For details of future first aid training organised by Our Bury St Edmunds contact Mike Kirkham on 01284 766258.

-The recycling bins for printer and toner cartridges are available at the Apex during its usual opening hours.