Life-saving defibrillator installed outside Horsforth Cricket Club following collapse of footballer Christian Eriksen

The 29-year-old Inter Milan playmaker had to be resuscitated on the pitch at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen after suffering a cardiac arrest during the first half of his side’s 1-0 Euro 2020 Group B defeat to Finland on Saturday June 12.

He has since been discharged from hospital after a successful operation to fit a defibrillator implant.

House developers Redrow has now donated a life-saving defibrillator from its completed Horsforth Vale development to the local cricket club.

Redrow completed its Horsforth Vale development at the end of 2020 after transforming two redundant industrial sites.

It is now home to 500 families.

The defibrillator from the site is now in a new home outside Horsforth Cricket Club’s pavilion and can be accessed 24/7 by the local community.

Local resident Judith Ward was part of a team of people who fundraised for two defibrillators to be fitted within Horsforth Vale while it was still under construction.

Redrow then promised to donate the defibrillator from Horsforth Vale’s construction site when the site completed.

Judith’s neighbour’s life was saved by a defibrillator when he went into cardiac arrest while out on a bike ride and so she understood just how crucial the devices are.

She said: “It’s great to see the defibrillator be installed in the sports pavilion.

"The two devices that are installed at either end of Horsforth Vale are there for the development itself but the new one in the pavilion will be for the wider community.

"It’s been a real community effort and it’s reassuring to know we have three devices should anyone need them.”

This is the third device the housebuilder has donated to communities close to where it builds with one going into a nursery school in Pontefract and Redrow also paid for a brand-new defibrillator to be installed at Sherburn High School, in Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire.

Steve Jackson, sales director at Redrow Yorkshire said: “We are aiming to leave a life-saving legacy in the cities, towns and villages where we build.

"Previously we have paid for a brand-new defibrillator to be installed at Sherburn High School and donated a defibrillator from our completed Springfields development in Highburton, near Huddersfield, to a nursery in Pontefract.

"Our aim now is that every time a Redrow development is completed in Yorkshire, the defibrillator will be donated to the local community.

“The value of defibrillators has been brought even more into focus recently with the on-pitch collapse of Christian Eriksen.

"They really are a life-saver.”