It may be all doom and gloom on our nation's railways amid strikes and ticket office closures.

But a piece of good news has come out today that could prevent death on our trains and stations.

Lives could be saved thanks to a new piece of kit at Macclesfield Railway Station at Waters Green.

Avanti West Coast, who operate trains from Manchester to London which stop at Macclesfield, have rolled out bleed control kits at 16 stations including Macc.

Bleed control kits have been installed at all of Avanti West Coast's managed stations after the train operator backed a charity campaign to spread awareness of their importance.

This follows the rail operators campaign for more publicly accessible bleed control kits. 

Avanti West Coast has partnered with The Daniel Baird Foundation to provide additional protection for its customers and colleagues, over and above the existing first aid provision which already includes defibrillators on each of its trains and at its 16 stations.

The foundation was set up by Lynne Baird in 2017 with the mission of promoting greater access to bleed kits in the West Midlands following the tragic death of her son Daniel.

In the intervening years, Lynne's passion and energy, for which she received an MBE in the 2022 New Year's Honours list, has seen over 10,000 kits introduced in public places across the UK and as far afield as the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Bleed control kits cost hundreds of pounds each.

The bleed kits will sit alongside the existing first aid provision at stations and be accessible for employees to use in the event of an emergency.

David Whitehouse, Security Director at Avanti West Coast said: "The safety of our people and customers is paramount. Accidents can happen at any time and bleed kits, put simply, can help save a life.

"We are incredibly proud to support the Foundation and would encourage others to join with Lynne to promote such an important cause."

Lynne Baird added: "People shouldn't just associate a catastrophic bleed to a stabbing. There are many other causes such as from a car accident or a work-related injury.

Other stations local to Macclesfield which are also gaining a new bleed kit include Stockport and Crewe. (Image - Macclesfield Nub News)

"We believe that having publicly accessible bleeding control packs in public places such as railway stations is vital. They provide the necessary first aid to help reduce blood loss until professional medical help arrives and I can't thank Avanti West Coast enough for their support."

Councillor Keiran Casey, who represents the Castle and Priory Ward in Dudley said: "Lynne is an inspiration to us all and it's been an honour to support her work which is so vitally important. 

"We're both extremely grateful to Avanti West Coast for supporting the campaign to help improve safety across the network and for rolling these kits out, they can genuinely save lives."

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