It's been bought for the town by the local Lions, with proceeds from fund raising events held over the past year.

It's been bought for the town by the local Lions, with proceeds from fund raising events held over the past year.

The £2,000 machine is located in car park of the Castle Hotel, on the outside wall of the building.

Andrew Barlow, community partnership manager at the East of England Ambulance Service gave the group a demonstration of how the defibrillator works and explained what happens when someone phones for an ambulance.

The cabinet has a keypad lock, the number of which is held by the ambulance service. When a caller dials 999, where there is a suspected heart attack, the keypad number will be given to the caller. The defibrillator is used to save precious minutes before the ambulance crew arrive and it can be used by virtually anybody as it has talking instructions. As soon as the start button is pressed, a voice explains exactly what to do step-by-step.

Robbie Bywater, president of the Lions club, said 'We would like to thank Howard and Helen Fradley, the proprietors of the hotel, for hosting this vital piece of equipment and also Neil Whicker, the electrician who kindly installed it without charge.

'It's thanks to the generosity of the townspeople of Downham Market that we are able to provide this life-saving equipment.

'We hope to organise a fundraising event each year specifically for the ongoing costs of the defibrillator and it is hoped that once again the general public will support this worthwhile scheme with their generosity.'

Downham Market Lions welcome anyone who would like to help support the local community with fundraising activities. Go online to downhamlions@gmail.com or call 0845 833 5805.