A LIFESAVING piece of equipment that can help heart attack victims has been purchased for the public and will be kept in Dorstone.

The defibrillator is part of a new generation of medical kit that can be used by people with minimal training, using a series of voice prompts and illuminated illustrations to take the rescuer through the process step-by-step.

In an emergency it can be found stored in the yellow box on the wall of the community hub, Dorstone’s Front Room, situated in the centre of the village.

"If it saves one life it will have been worthwhile,” said John Platts, who is organised the project.

“We are delighted to have a cardiac defibrillator for the use of the Dorstone community.”

There is an increasing drive to make automated external defibrillators – AEDs – available to communities across the country.

Nationwide, there are around 60,000 cardiac arrests that occur outside the hospital ever year.

And, according to the British Heart Foundation , for every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation, the chances of survival drop by 10 per cent.

The equipment at Dorstone is the iPAD SP1 AED, the nominated device of the British Heart Foundation.

The charity helped pay for the £3000 device alongside local businesses and organisations.

Hay Town Council is also considering purchasing a public defibrillator and is currently looking for assistance financing it.