1:02pm Wednesday 11th August 2010
By Michael Pickard
A father-of-two cycled from London to Cambridge to raise money for a charity that provides vital medical equipment for schools across south-west Hertfordshire.
Simon O'Brien, from Langley Hill, Kings Langley, completed the 60-mile route when the annual race took place last month.
He climbed on his bike to support Wayne's Fund, which donated a heart defibrillator to Divine Saviour School in Abbots Langley, where his children Conor, eight, and Hannah, six, are pupils.
Wayne Pope died suddenly just ten days after his 30th birthday, in 2005, and his family believe it is this piece of equipment that could have saved his life.
They set up a charity in Wayne's name to raise money for heart defibrillators, which cost £1,200 each, and presented one to Divine Saviour after Simon's wife, Pauline, a parent governor at the school, met Wayne's brother Glynn.
Deciding he wanted to “give something back” to the charity, Simon, 51, took part in the London to Cambridge race on July 25 to raise money for Wayne's Fund.
He said: “If we can get these defibrillators in all public buildings, that would be really great. For the sake of one, it could save someone's life and we're very pleased there's one in Divine Saviour.”
Pauline added: “As well as being a worthwhile cause, Wayne's Fund donated a heart defibrillator to Divine Saviour where our children go so we wanted to give something back to a charity that gave the school this really valuable piece of medical kit.”
Other schools to have received a defibrillator from Wayne's Fund are St Michael's Catholic High School, Mount Pleasant Lane School, St Catherine of Siena School, Francis Combe Academy, and Cavendish School in Hemel Hempstead.
To sponsor Simon or for more information about Wayne's Fund, email glynn.pope@hotmail.com.
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