THE brother of a man who suffered a sudden fatal heart attack at work has spoken of his astonishment at finding out that his petition for defibrillators in the workplace has reached more than 65,000 signatures.

John Aird, 66, from Swan Road, Tranent, set up a petition on Change.org to make it mandatory for defibrillators to be accessible in workplaces in Scotland.

After 100,000 signatures, petitions are considered for debate in Parliament.

John’s determination and drive in the face of his grief has seen residents back his journey to make defibrillators more accessible in East Lothian and beyond.

John said: “I never imagined this reaction in my wildest dreams, all I wanted was to raise awareness and achieve something locally to help people. I am astonished.”

John’s younger brother David, 59, tragically passed away following a sudden heart attack at his workplace in Edinburgh on March 22.

John said: “There is no guarantee that having a defibrillator would have saved David’s life but defibrillators offer another chance and a possibility of surviving, which is why I believe every workplace with 10-plus employees should have one available and they should be signposted so people are aware and locals can find them.

“For us, nothing can be done to bring David back but this petition has kept me busy and it has given me something to focus on.

“These last few months have been just surreal and a lot of the time it’s hard to believe, it feels like a bad dream.”

John has focused his attention on researching the benefits and costs of defibrillators.

He said: “The cost of a defibrillator is just over £1,000 and businesses can lease or hire them for £30 per month.

“If businesses do buy them, the defibrillator company will come set it up and give them a tutorial on how to use them, and as a bonus the machinery is tax deductible.

“Everywhere should have them.”

David’s son Michael, 29, from Pilton, has been moved by the support of the East Lothian community and offered his heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has signed and shared the petition.

The youth worker said: “My uncle John was the brains behind it and when I was made aware of the petition it was sitting at just over 1,000 signatures.

“To see it currently over 65,000 is beyond what any of us would have imagined.

“To see the importance of a defibrillator, everyone just needed to turn the Euros on this summer to understand.

“[There was] a near-identical scenario as a healthy man went into cardiac arrest while doing his job.

“A key difference is that Christian Eriksen had a defibrillator on him within a few minutes whereas my father did not.

“Those around him and the emergency services did all they could but they needed help.

“Having a defibrillator on site can make a massive impact and help avoid a repeat of this tragic event.”

Sign the petition at change.org/p/mandatory-defibrillators-in-the-workplace