There have been calls for more public awareness about a town centre's defibrillator.

Eastern Daily Press: The opening day of the new Age Concern Great Yarmouth Acorn centre on Regent Street in Great Yarmouth. Picture: James BassThe opening day of the new Age Concern Great Yarmouth Acorn centre on Regent Street in Great Yarmouth. Picture: James Bass (Image: Archant Norfolk © 2016)

The centre of Great Yarmouth did not have one of the potentially life-saving devices until last month.

A publicly accessible unit is prominently attached to the front of Acorn Centre, in Regent Street, a building specifically for people over 50 in the borough.

Now the centre's services manager Jackie Tierney has said she wants people in the town centre and market place to familiarise themselves with its location in case they ever need to use it.

Jayne Biggs, from Heart 2 Heart, said she found it unbelievable that this was the first one in Great Yarmouth, adding: 'I'm really pleased we now have this in the town.'

The unit was fitted free of charge by an electrician who was undertaking work inside the premises.

How to use a defibrillator:

People can use an AED with no training.

The machine analyses someone's heart rhythm and then uses visual or voice prompts to guide you through each step.

First, make sure someone has called for an ambulance, and, if an AED isn't immediately available, give CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) until someone can bring you an AED.

As soon as you've got an AED, switch it on. It will immediately start to give you a series of visual and verbal prompts informing you of what you need to do. Follow these prompts until the ambulance arrives or someone with more experience than you takes over.

Take the pads out of the sealed pack. Remove or cut through any clothing and wipe away any sweat from the chest

Remove the backing paper and attach the pads to their chest

Place the first pad on their upper right side, just below their collarbone as shown on the pad

Then place the second pad on their left side, just below the armpit. Make sure you position the pad lengthways, with the long side in line with the length of the their body.

Once you've done this, the AED will start checking the heart rhythm. Make sure that no-one is touching the person. Continue to follow the voice and/or visual prompts that the machine gives you until help arrives.