Pothole hero to turn life-saver

A Fylde company thwarted in its bid to help fill potholes wants to do its bit for the community by donating a life-saving defibrillator.
Joe Gillett of Lytham St Annes Skip Hire with a defibrillator the company is offering for the centre of LythamJoe Gillett of Lytham St Annes Skip Hire with a defibrillator the company is offering for the centre of Lytham
Joe Gillett of Lytham St Annes Skip Hire with a defibrillator the company is offering for the centre of Lytham

Bosses at Lytham St Annes Skip Hire were turned down by highways authority Lancashire County Council ‘for practical and legislative reasons’ when they offered to help repair the roads.

After posting the offer on social media, Skip Hire firm director Joe Gillett said: “This offer is not a criticism of the county council in any way.

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“But the roads seem to be getting worse by the day and it seems they are fighting a losing battle.

“We have already mended some holes in Boundary Road, where we are based, but as that is a private road, we were just able to go ahead and do that and our neighbours have said how pleased they are with the results.

“But we realise we need permission from the County Council to do similar on the public highway.

“If we are not successful, the money will be spent on a community project.”

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County Coun Keith Iddon, Lancashire’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “I would like to thank the company for their very public spirited offer.

“Unfortunately for practical and legislative reasons it is not something we can take them up on.

“However I would like to say that potholes remain one of the council’s top priorities and our staff are working hard to tackle the issue.

“We have also put £10m into this year’s budget to fix potholes, as well as make structural repairs, which will help to prevent them appearing in the first place.”

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Joe confirmed that the community project to which he referred is an offer of a defibrillator for Lytham town centre.

The company has had one of the potentially life-saving machines on the wall of its headquarters in Boundary Road since last autumn and already has a second one readily to hand.

“We are a very community-conscious company and want to do our bit to help, so the offer is there,” said Joe.

“Lytham Square is screaming out for a defib being the busiest area of town but not having one .

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“We found this surprising but we thought if we can donate one it could really make a difference.

“They have a battery life that lasts years and we really believe it will save someone’s life in that time, which would be amazing.”

Anyone willing to take up Joe’s offer should call Lytham St Annes Skip Hire on (01253) 738366.