COMPENSATION paid after a ‘horrible’ theft of a defibrillator will go towards purchasing life-saving equipment for the community, it has been revealed.

Last month train passenger Thomas Paul McNaught stole a defibrillator from first responder Kerry Stafford-Roberts carrying out first aid on a patient at Oxenholme railway station.

After his callous theft the 35-year-old headed north on a west coast mainline service but was detained at Carlisle. The defib was later recovered after being found in a hotel in Bowness.

McNaught later told police that he accepted the theft was a "horrible thing to do" and did not know why he stole the machine, which he could neither use nor sell.

Appearing in Carlisle Magistrates’ Court, McNaught, of Hathaway Lane, Glasgow, admitted stealing the £1,200 defibrillator from Mr Stafford-Roberts.

McNaught’s lawyer said the defendant’s background included a traumatic brain injury in 2005 which left him suffering memory lapses.

READ MORE: Defibrillator stolen as first responder treated woman at Oxenholme

Magistrates imposed 26 weeks jail but suspended the sentence for a year and imposed ten days of rehabilitation.

McNaught was ordered to pay £1,200 compensation for the defibrillator, settling that debt at a rate of £10 per week. There was no order for costs or a victim surcharge as compensation was given priority.

Adamant on ‘making some good from bad’, the compensation received will go towards placing a new public access defibrillator in the local community, Mr Stafford-Roberts revealed on Twitter.