Life-saving kit donated to police in tribute to teenager

A MORAY couple who lost their son in a road accident have kept his legacy alive by donating defibrillators to police in the Highlands.

Sandra and Gordon McKandie’s son Keiran was 16 when he collided with a car while cycling near Craigend in Moray in 2016.

Since his tragic death, his parents have been fundraising in his honour, and donated defibrillators to officers in the north east last year. These devices have been deployed 39 times, and saved the life of a 52-year-old man in Peterhead.

Now they have rolled the scheme out into the Highlands, handing over the latest batch of six defibrillators while in Inverness this week. They will be installed in road policing vehicles based in Dingwall and Fort William.

"Now that the police have got this equipment they will be able to take action when people are in a life-threatening situation," Mrs McKandie said.

Road policing Chief Inspector Stewart Mackie said: "We are very grateful to the McKandie family for their generous gift. The defibrillators will now be placed in all the road policing vehicles in the Highlands and Islands Division.

"Hopefully we won’t have to use these too often but it gives us an extra tool so that if we are called to an incident, we have an opportunity to save lives."