Family of tragic Hartlepool cricketer Danny Shurmer fundraise for public defibrillators near his home

Bill and Pam Shurmer were left devastated when their 43-year-old son passed away suddenly on June 17 at the home he shared with fiancee Jill.

He had just returned home from a night shift at 6.10am and gone straight up to bed to greet Jill and take a nap.

Jill got up to make coffee and juice and returned to find him unresponsive.

Danny’s family are now hoping to have defibrillators installed in the Bishop Cuthbert area of the town.

Pam said: “It would be massive to have them, whether they would have saved him, we unfortunately don’t know.

"These defibrillators, at least if they are there, might be able to save someone else and I know that Daniel would have wanted that.

"Hopefully if we can get them installed, they might be able to prevent some other families and their friends experiencing the heartache that we have had.

"We are aiming to get around three installed in Bishop Cuthbert and then other parts of the town if there is any money left over.”

After Danny’s death, David Cairns, who has been a resident on the estate for 21 years, linked up with Pam and Bill’s fundraising efforts.

The 47-year-old added: “Defibrillators are a vital part in the chain of survival and can actually make a massive difference to the chances of survival of someone suffering from cardiac arrest.

"My friend Graham Smith and I obviously heard about Danny so we linked up with the family to try and do some fundraising in his memory.

"We’re just working on the pricing and the locations of where they will go at the moment.”

Hartlepool United fan Danny died while planning to attend the club’s National League play-off final at Bristol against Torquay United.

A celebration of his life was held at Hartlepool Cricket Club, where he spent over 30 years since joining as a junior member aged 10, on July 9 ahead of a private family cremation.

His death also came just days after Denmark footballer Christian Eriksen was resuscitated by medics after suffering a cardiac arrest during a Euro 2020 tie with Finland.

The explanatory message on the appeal’s JustGiving page says: “We have all seen recently with the footballer, Christian Eriksen, how much the difference of having access to a defibrillator can make.

"This happened five days before Danny tragically passed away.

"So in memory of him, we have joined forces with others in Hartlepool and are trying to raise funds to have several public defibrillators put in the area Danny used to live, as currently there aren‘t any.

"But it would also be great if we could raise enough funds to have more put throughout the town.

“We have been asked by several people if they can make a donation online in memory of Danny so decided to set up this page. This would be an amazing tribute to him and he would be truly touched by it.”

The £2,000 appeal can be supported online at www.justgiving.com by searching for “Help fund public defibrillators in Hartlepool in memory of Danny Shurmer”.

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