A DEFIBRILLATOR which mysteriously vanished from Royston has been returned.

The piece of life-saving equipment has been in situ at The Grove, Station Road, for more than a year thanks to support from the local ward alliance and the Healthy Hearts Group.

However, after it was accessed on December 19 it wasn’t returned for almost a month.

Last week, it was finally handed back to the site.

John Openshaw, who looks after the area’s defibrillators, told the Chronicle:” It’s a positive outcome, the defibrillator was retrieved from a property in Carlton.

“It didn’t show up on the original search by Yorkshire Ambulance Service as the call was made at lunchtime.

“The family had been directed to the unit at the village hall in Carlton, not familiar with the area they travelled to the civic hall in Royston believing that was the village hall and noticed the defibrillator at The Grove believing that was the one they were directed to.

“They didn’t understand the importance of returning the device in a timely manner but Joanne Watson of Yorkshire Ambulance Service was able to piece things together and retrieve the unit and return it to The Grove ready for the next incident.”