A life-saving device has been installed in a redundant village phone box.

The community Public Access Defibrillator (cPAD) was purchased by Ringsfield and Weston Parish Council and is housed in an old phone box on Redisham Road, near the Ringsfield crossroads.

It can be accessed by anyone calling 999 in the event of a suspected cardiac arrest. The emergency call handler will give the caller a code to give them access to the defibrillator, enabling them to begin performing life-saving techniques on a casualty.

Louise Rees, chairman of the council, said after they heard BT would be closing the phone box, councillors wanted to make use of the space and decided it would positively benefit the villages following an incident where someone suffered a heart attack in Beccles.

She said that as Ringsfield is quite a distance from the nearest hospital, the defibrillator is a much-needed facility in isolated areas.

Since 2008, BT has been working with the Community Heartbeat Trust to transform disused phone boxes into life-saving kiosks through its Adopt a Kiosk scheme. The first kiosk to be fitted with the defibrillation equipment funded by BT was in Lower Slaughter, Gloucestershire.

Lowestoft Community First Responder (CFR) and Waveney CFR trainer Andy Mower, said: 'Community Public Access Defibrillators in rural locations are vital, lifesaving pieces of equipment that are much needed. The increased number of defibrillators in these isolated locations is very much welcomed.'

Members of the local community were also given a two-hour cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training session by the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, which included a trial of the new defibrillator. Held in the Ringsfield Village Hall the session was well attended, successfully training 10 members of the community with life-saving skills.

CFRs are volunteers trained by the East of England Ambulance Service to respond to medical emergencies such as cardiac arrests, allergic reactions, diabetes emergencies and patients with breathing difficulties and chest pain whilst the ambulance is on its way.

Anyone interested in becoming a CFR or finding out more can visit http://www.eastamb.nhs.uk/join-the-team/community-first-responders.

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