'Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!': Life-saving defibrillator installed in Leighton Buzzard's North Street

For months, the quirky movie logo has been painted above The Barbershop, North Street, and it can now be revealed that it was part of a campaign to install life-saving equipment at the site.

The initiative is thanks to the fantastic fundraising efforts of friends – and barber shop customers – Stuart Kelman and Liam King, who collected £774 in order to get a defibrillator at the shop. They have also been handing out Ghostbuster badges as part of a plan to raise awareness.

Stuart, 61, said: "I live at the back of the barber shop, and one day I came out through my gates to find a person outside had collapsed. Luckily, someone had given them CPR.

"The Almshouses are down the road and we have a lot of elderly people living in this area – but the nearest defibrillator then was at the Post Office. But that's a ten minute walk away from here - and those ten minutes are critical."

Deciding to take action, Stuart and his pal Liam have spent the past three years raising money for a defibrillator in the North Street area.

The pair raised cash thanks to profits from car boot sales – and they also organised the Ghostbuster artwork and badges to tease the campaign

Stuart added: "The Ghostbusters image came about just like Marshmallow Man – in an instant – the reason being that if a defibrillator saves one life, then it is a 'ghost buster'.

"The badges we purchased a few years back – 1,000 of them – and gave them out without telling anyone our goal until we achieved it. Now those who have been given a badge now know the reason and what it represents."

Stuart and Liam would like to say thank you to the Leighton Buzzard community, to The Barbershop, and to artist Hayden Heinz who painted the logo above it. Hayden plans to repaint it soon.

The defibrillator can be accessed inside The Barbershop from 8am until 6pm.

Stuart and Liam are now selling badges to raise £550 for a protective case, so the equipment can be placed outside and accessed 24/7. Look out for them selling badges in town from May 2.

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