Campaigners successfully fill town with life-saving machines

There are now 72 public defibrillators in Cheltenham town centre

Campaigners have managed to install more than 70 emergency defibrillators in a town after one woman discovered there were none at all.

The Public Heart campaign, founded by Clare Seed has helped install the potentially life-saving machines across Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

The campaign managed to get six installed before the Covid lockdown and then a further 66 in the last two years, all through donations and private sponsorship.

The devices cost £1,000 each and £650 for the cabinet where they are stored.

Every defib is registered on the national circuit which means 999 call handlers know where they are

More than 30,000 cardiac arrests happen outside of hospitals each year in the UK but at the moment less than one in 10 survive, according to the British Heart Foundation.

In 2022, one customer's life was saved after they suffered a heart attack in a Gloucester car showroom.

The dealership recently had defibrillators installed and staff were able to use the device until emergency services arrived.

The Public Heart campaign now plans to get more defibs into residential areas to help anyone who has a cardiac arrest at home.

Campaigners have managed to install more than 70 emergency defibrillators in a town after one woman discovered there were none at all.

The Public Heart campaign, founded by Clare Seed has helped install the potentially life-saving machines across Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Founder Mrs Seed said: "There is nothing more important than helping someone when they need it most.

"i we can give people access to kit and the confidence to act, then we can increase those out-of-hospital survival rates and that is exactly what is happening here in Cheltenham," she added.

Mrs Seed adds that a key part of the campaign is raising awareness that "absolutely no training is needed to use a defib, you only have to follow the instructions of the 999 call handler".