Grantham-born brothers help to install defibrillator at home of Gonerby Youth FC

Two brothers helped to install a defibrillator at a village sports club in memory of their dad who died from a heart attack.

Ian and Stuart Gutteridge, aged 41 and 46 respectively, lost their dad Clifford Gutteridge, known to many as Cyril, in 2021 after he suffered a heart attack while on holiday.

A defibrillator was installed at Gonerby Youth Football Club thanks to funds raised by Ian and from Cyril's funeral.

After his dad's passing, Ian made a promise to get fitter and he eventually ran a 10k, raising £4,000 in the process.

Stuart said: “Ian was the real driving force in getting all of the defibrillators and giving them out. He was instrumental in all of this.

“We lost our dad a year ago to a heart attack. He was on holiday at the time and they didn’t have a defibrillator at the hotel.

"It may have helped, it may not have, we don’t know, but from that point, my brother made a promise to my dad that he was going to get himself fit."

The brothers both grew up in Grantham, but now live in the Lincoln area.

Ian said: “I’ve always been a big lad, up and down with weight, fluctuating as I grew up. Dad was always worried about my weight.

"When he passed away, I had five minutes on my own with him in the chapel of rest, and I told him I was going to turn my life around.

"I lost a load of weight, ran a 10k, raised £4,000, I’ve distributed four defibrillators around Lincoln city."

As well as this, a defibrillator has been added to the hotel that Cyril was staying at when he suffered his heart attack.

Stuart said: “With collections from my dad’s funeral, and with money Ian raised, I think it was nearly £4,000, we managed to buy one and install it at the hotel in Weymouth, which then kickstarted them to put defibrillators in their other hotels.

"We wanted to find somewhere local to Grantham that wanted one, so we rang around a few places.

"It was always the idea to give one to a place that didn’t have access to one at all. We went up to Gonerby Football Club and they said they would love it.

“It is handheld and can be used by any team that needs it really. Hopefully they will never have to use it."

As well as installing defibrillators, Ian has donated some of the money raised to organisations in the Lincoln area, including Fight Factory, Function First and Active Arena.

He said: “There were 425 people at dad’s funeral, so he touched quite a few hearts."

Ian added that he was hopeful of taking on another similar project in the near future.

Stuart said: "People have been really happy and appreciative of getting the defibrillator.

“When you look at the statistics. If you can get a defibrillator straight away, it can make a massive difference."

Dale Gilbert, under 18s manager at Gonerby YFC, said: "As a grassroots football club, we really do appreciate the kind gesture for us to have received the defibrillator from the Gutteridge family.

"Hopefully this will not only be great for our football but will also be great for the local cricket team and community, if ever needed in an emergency."