Thanks to the power of social media, the vital piece of medical equipment was collected from Mr Fiaz Ali from Oldham yesterday evening.

Mr Ali spotted the defibrillator by the roadside a mile away from where it disappeared, and immediately recognised it and contacted the trust to arrange its safe return.

Mr Ali commented: “When I saw it, I knew it was the one being talked about on social media and so I took it home for safekeeping and then immediately contacted the ambulance service.

“One of my family members was taken ill not so long ago and the ambulance crew used one of these machines and so I knew how important it was. I’m glad it has been safely found and that I was able to help.”

News of the defibrillator’s disappearance hit social media sites early yesterday afternoon and was shared far and wide by news outlets and the general public. The trust received offers of donations to replace the unit by kind-hearted members of the community and we would like to thank everyone who helped.

Operations Manager for Tameside and Glossop, Oliver Mayor said: “We are very grateful to Mr Ali for his vigilance and the safe return of the defibrillator which is in full working order and back on the road in one of our ambulances. I went to see him yesterday evening to collect it and thanked him personally for his help.

“We were overwhelmed with messages of support and offers to help from the public and are delighted to have it back with us.”