Wield village gets two defibrillator phone boxes

The defibrillator can be accessed by dialling 999

A Hampshire village has installed two phone boxes containing life-saving defibrillators.

The equipment, which is used to administer electric shocks to cardiac arrest patients, has been set up in the remote village of Wield.

The red phone boxes, costing £1 each, have been sited in Upper and Lower Wield, where the combined population is about 250.

Each defibrillator can be accessed by dialling 999 for a key code.

The phone boxes were reconditioned by villager Terry Frost.

The installation and equipment was paid for with a £2,500 grant from rural charity Fieldfare and £2,000 raised by young people in the village.

'Easy and safe'

Tom Geddes, a fourth-year medical student at Bristol University, and his brothers organised the fundraising.

He said: "Having lived all our lives in the village, it was nice to do something for the village."

Parish council chairman Brian Collins said: "The Community Heartbeat Trust gave us advice and guidance on how to install the apparatus and we bought them through the trust.

"Howard Farley from the Hampshire paramedic service gave us a demonstration of how to use them - and it's really easy and safe, you don't need any medical expertise.

"If someone has what looks like a heart attack, you get them to the box, lift up the phone and follow instructions."