Cramlington Indian restaurant Dhamaka raising money to buy defibrillator for juniors football club

Dhamaka, based at the Brockwell Centre, is donating half of the money spent on cocktails and desserts to Cramlington United Juniors Football Club so it can buy the life-saving piece of equipment.

The restaurant is hoping to raise around £800 and have the kit installed where the club is based, at nearby Northburn Sports and Community Centre.

Raising cash for defibrillators is important to the family behind Dhamaka, as co-owner Abdul Muhit suffered a heart attack in 2021.

Abdul Salam, who owns the restaurant with his uncle Abdul Muhit, said: “We are always eager to find ways to support the community, which our restaurant is a part of.

"Given my uncle’s heart attack in 2021, this is a cause which is personal to us and has great value for the wider community.”

Over the last 40 years, the family has become popular and well-known in the area for their charity work and fundraising efforts.

A couple of years agothey installed a defibrillator near their Morpeth takeaway, Morpeth Tandoori.

Abdul Muhit said: “Since I came to Morpeth, the town has very much become my home – so it gives me great pleasure to support my own local community in whatever way I can as a way of giving something back in return for the support my business has received.”

The Dhamaka restaurant has been home to other charity initiatives – it collected £1,000 for Thomas Bewick School in Newcastle, which educates and cares for children and young people with autism.