A vital piece of lifesaving equipment has been installed in various places around Diss thanks to the Rotary Club of Diss and District.

A vital piece of lifesaving equipment has been installed in various places around Diss thanks to the Rotary Club of Diss and District.

There had been no defibrillators for the public to access in the town but the Rotary club decided to rectify this and have placed defibrillator units at the Methodist Church on Victoria Road and Adkins Opticians on Market Hill - which has been funded as a gift to the community by the opticians in conjunction with the Rotary club.

To complete the project a further defibrillator will be installed in the next few weeks at Jewson on Victoria Road.

The money for the defibrillators was raised by local businesses and the public.

Dick Mitchell, president of the Rotary Club of Diss and District, said: 'We identified the need for public access defibrillators in the town and we worked with the Community Heartbeat Trust, the East of England Ambulance Service and First Responders Group in Diss to fill this gap.

'This project to support the local community is an example of one of the key objectives of our Rotary club and I am thrilled that two of these defibrillator units are now in place.'

Each defibrillator is housed in a yellow vandal proof lockable cabinet.

When someone calls 999 the ambulance service will direct the caller to the machine and will issue the access code.

The defibrillator is automated and will talk the user through the process in easy steps. The user will have support from the 999 operator until the ambulance service arrives to take over.

Julian Mason, mayor of Diss, said: 'I am so pleased to see community minded individuals and businesses coming together to ensure this initiative of the Rotary Club of Diss and District to provide these defibrillators has become a reality in the town. Everyone involved deserves a big thank you.'

Currently if you suffer a cardiac arrest out of hospital, you have less than a one in 10 chance of surviving. However, statistics show that if someone is able to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or use a defibrillator within the first four minutes, there is a significant increase in the chance of survival.