WINCHAM councillors hope a new defibrillator will be a safety reassurance to village residents.

The parish council has bought the public-access device, which costs around £7,000, with support from the allocated budget of Cheshire West and Chester Council councillor Norman Wright.

It can be used by anyone including untrained members of the public because it includes spoken and video instructions.

The defibrillator was placed outside Wincham Community Centre on September 1.

A council spokesperson said: “There have been a lot of neighbouring parishes that have bought a defibrillator and we felt it was the right time to do something for Wincham.

“The village is home to around 2,000 with an ageing population so when we contacted emergency services we felt there would be a benefit in having the device installed.

“Defibrillators save lives and there is only a small window to help if someone has a heart attack so this can only be a positive investment.

“It is easy to use. It is there to give expert advice to people who are not experts in the event of a crisis.

“A thank you has to go to Norman Wright who has used some of his budget to fund this. We could not afford it out of the parish precept and the village is grateful for his contribution.

“We hope it never needs to be used but if one life is saved then it will have been worth installing."

In the UK, around 75,000 people lose their lives due to sudden cardiac arrest every year, but access to defibrillation improves survival rates from less than three per cent to more than 75 per cent.

Anyone calling 999 from Wincham will be directed to the device if a cardiac arrest is suspected.