A MISSION to ensure people in Bicester are always within minutes of a life-saving defibrillator has had a £10,000 boost following a surprise donation.

Bicester Methodist Church trustees in the town pledged to raise enough money to fund 15 public access defibrillators after finding out Bicester only had about five in the town centre, none of which were available 24-hours a day.

But thanks to a recent windfall donated to the cause by an elderly couple who asked not be named, project coordinator Mike Black has said another five more defibrillators can be purchased.

He said: "An elderly couple had been trying to find out where to make a donation and eventually were told to come down to the church’s coffee morning.

"The pensioners came into the church and handed over the cheque for £10,000 - of course I was over the moon."

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) commander Dick Tracey added: "We met them on Tuesday, we knew they were coming to make a donation but didn’t know how much that was going to be.

"When we saw the cheque being written it was just the best thing that could’ve happened – it really made my week.

"What a lovely couple they were. They purely could see the benefits of the project and had been thinking about donating after reading about the campaign."

Everyone involved in raising cash for the campaign has thanked the couple.

Since the project launched in August last year, the church project has managed to raise enough money to buy the first defibrillator, costing just over £2,000 to be put at the methodist church in Bell Lane.

The defibrillator is thought to be the first 24-hour publicly accessible life-saving machine in the town centre and is expected to be installed over the coming weeks.

There have also been several charity pledges from Bicester Lions and The Masons to fund another three towards the town centre project.

The latest generous windfall will help to buy another five more defibrillators to help the project work towards nobody ever being more than eight minutes away from a defibrillator.

It will help cover the areas identified by SCAS as needed a defibrillator in the first stage of the project.

This includes Market Square, Garth Park, Murdock Road, Telford Road, Kestrel Way, Osprey Close, Mallards Way, Whitelands Way, Ascot Way, Leach Road, Bure Park, Mulberry Drive, Sunderland Drive and Bassett Avenue.

Once these areas are covered phase two of the project will look at the areas further afield from the centre.

Mr Tracey added: “It is a fantastic boost to the project, there is still more that needs to be done but it is a great lift for everybody.

“It means lots of things but the absolute is that we can put more defibrillators in much sooner than anticipated.

“Because of this donation potentially lives will be saved and that’s the ultimate, but also it has been so positive for the project motivation.”

The group is now working to find people who would donate a space on their wall n these areas or the electricity to connect the machines up.

Anyone who would like to help or make a donation can send them to Bicester Methodist Church, Bell Lane, Bicester, OX26 6JQ or contact 01869 323030