A group of cyclists, including two members of the Rotary Club of King's Lynn have raised funds to enable the purchase of a public access defibrillator for the town.

The money was raised by the Rotarians and their friends cycling 220 miles around the perimeter of Norfolk over a period of 4 days last summer.

The idea to provide a defibrillator came from Andy Holford, a keen cyclist, who persuaded a group of friends to join him on this cycling challenge.

Mr Holford had been cycling around the villages of West Norfolk and noticed the numbers of public access defibrillators growing as parish councils and community groups funded these life saving devices. He felt that the King's Lynn public should also benefit from them and the hope is that more will follow elsewhere in the town.

In the East of England there are approximately 450 cardiac arrests every month. Survival chances without CPR/defibrillation is approximately 5-10pc. The availability of a defibrillator for public use will allow early treatment which should increase the chance of survival.

The equipment is fully automatic and can be used by any member of the public without any special training. It will provide early treatment for the patient whilst the emergency services are on their way.

The defibrillator has been installed in John Kennedy Road on the front of the King's Lynn Chiropractic Clinic being on the edge of a very large residential area. Andy said 'The Clinic has been very accommodating in hosting the equipment on their building for us and providing the power supply to it.'