A COMMUNITY-spirited businessman has launched a fundraising bid to provide a life-saving defibrillator at Kidderminster Youth House.

Quads N Castles owner Dave Griffin said the equipment was vital at the venue in Bromsgrove Street, which is home to a number of organisations and has dozens of visitors throughout each day.

He has set up a JustGiving page to raise the required £1,626 to purchase it and kick-started the appeal with £100 of his own cash.

Mr Griffin, aged 48, was prompted to launch the page following the closure of the nearby Wyre Forest Glades Leisure Centre which previously had a defibrillator on site.

He said: “Youth House has a number of groups based there including Wyre Forest Nightstop, Kidderminster and District Youth Trust (KDYT), AXIS as well as a large number of visitors every day.

“Some of these are charity-based organisations who deal with children and young adults who are in difficult situations at home or who are finding life tough, being homeless and in need of accommodation. These guys do a tremendous job.

“When Glades was located on Prospect Hill, they housed a defibrillator and, on a few occasions, KDYT guys ran down to grab it. Fortunately it wasn't needed on these occasions.

“But our quest at Quads N Castles is to raise enough money to buy one that can be located at Youth House to give them peace of mind and the means to save a life should they need it.”

Ben Bennett, from KDYT, said: “We are really grateful for Dave’s support on this.

“Kidderminster Youth House has between 750 to 1000 people during the week and weekends, it is open late and so the availability of the defibrillator is going to be good.

“It is home to a number of organisations and groups so the impact of this will be significant. To have the support of people like Dave is invaluable to a small charity like KDYT.”

Judith Ford, from Wyre Forest Nightstop, said: “Youth House is at the heart of our community, an invaluable resource for young people and the perfect place to host a defibrillator and potentially save lives. We are very grateful to Dave Griffin for launching this campaign.”

People can support the appeal by donating via the JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Kidderminster-Defibrillator