“This really will mean the difference between life and death” - the words of Durham Constabulary police officers after 140 police response vehicles were fitted with defibrillators thanks a donation worth £185,000 from the Sunderland charity the Red Sky Foundation.

The Red Sky Foundation raise money to support babies, children and adults living with complex heart conditions.

Red Sky Foundation founder Sergio Petrucci MBE hands over 140 defibrillators to Durham Constabulary. | sn

placeholder image — Red Sky Foundation founder Sergio Petrucci MBE hands over 140 defibrillators to Durham Constabulary. | sn

The foundation was created by Sunderland couple – Sergio and Emma Petrucci MBE and was initially a one-off event thanking the team at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital who carried out life-saving open heart surgery on their daughter, Luna.

Speaking at the handover of the defibrillators, Sergio said: “I’m delighted to be with Durham Constabulary today to hand over these defibrillators. We hope these defibrillators never have to be used but when a 999 call is made it’s often a police response vehicle which is on the scene first.

“Police officers will now have the equipment to perform early defibrillation. This can increase the chance of survival from as little as 7% all the way up to nearly 80%.”

In June (2025) the Red Sky Foundation donated 154 defibrillators to Northumbria Police.

Sergio added: “In the first two weeks of defibrillators being in Northumbria Police vehicles they were used 15 times and lives have been saved.

“Having these defibrillators in police vehicles helps to put them at the heart of local communities meaning anyone who has a medical emergency, we’re confident that lives will be saved.

“This really is the difference between life and death.”

One person who knows better than most about the life-saving difference a defibrillator can make is Durham Constabulary’s Chief Inspector Simon Turner who in April (2025) collapsed in a gym he was exercising in as he had gone into cardiac arrest.

Sergio Petrucci MBE with cardiac arrest survivor DCI Simon Turner. | sn

DCI Turner said: “The good thing for me is that I was saved by a colleague and members of the public who carried out CPR and went and grabbed and administered a defibrillator.

“I would be here today if they hadn’t of accessed a defibrillator within minutes of the incident happening.

“To receive this donation today is phenomenal.”

Also at the handover was Durham Constabulary’s sergeant Terry Archbold whose daughter, Beatrix, received a life-saving heart transplant in 2023.

Sergeant Terry Archbold with one of the donated defibrillators. | sn

Terry, who is from Roker, said: “Getting these defibrillators is amazing and vital. Over my career I’ve been to countless incidents where CPR is being given and so the ability to be able to deploy a defibrillator at such incidents will undoubtedly save lives.

“My daughter Beatrix was in hospital for many months whilst she waited for a heart transplant. During that time she had a cardiac arrest and a defibrillator was used to revive her.

“It’s amazing Red Sky have partnered with us to make this happen.”

Durham Constabulary's Assistant Chief Constable Richie Allen added: “We are immensely grateful to the Red Sky Foundation for this donation on Restart a Heart Day.

“We are often the first at the scene at things like road traffic collisions or where there has been a serious assault and officers are conducting CPR.

“This will now give them a vital opportunity to have defibrillator immediately accessible to save lives.”

With every response car in Northumbria Police and Durham Constabulary now in possession of a defibrillator Sergio hopes to use data on survival rates to support the Jamie’s Law campaign to see the initiative rolled out nationally.

Jamie Rees, who lived in Rugby in Warwickshire, was just 18 when he collapsed with a cardiac arrest on New Years Eve 2021. The police officers who arrived on the scene did not have access to a defibrillator and by the time paramedics arrived, it was too late for Jamie to recover and he passed away due to oxygen starvation.

Following Jamie’s tragic passing, his mother Naomi Rees-Issitt set-up the OurJay Foundation to raise money to supply community defibrillators. The charity is also campaigning for ‘Jamie’s Law’, to see all police response cars nationally equipped with defibrillators.

Naomi, who was present at the handover, said: “The police arrived after 12 minutes and we have since been told by doctors that if a defibrillator had been applied to Jamie at that time then he would probably still be standing here today.

“The minutes saved with having a defibrillator in the back of a police car, rather than having to collect one, really could be the difference between life and death.”