Defibrillators to be installed on buildings across Hull

Defibrillators are used to restart hearts in patients suffering a cardiac arrest

A network of defibrillators is to be installed on the outside of buildings across Hull.

The city council is spending £10,000 to buy the equipment, which is used to restart hearts in patients suffering a cardiac arrest.

The aim is to have the publicly accessible defibrillators no further than 600m (2,000ft) apart.

Training sessions on how to use the equipment will also be offered to the public.

The initiative is part of a new partnership which includes local charity Help for Health and the fire and ambulance services.

Councillor Jack Haines said he wanted Hull to be a "leader in the rollout of this equipment in our public spaces".

"I am delighted to see more investment into this equipment alongside making them more accessible and providing local people with education on how to use them," he said.

Hull City Council said there were 220 defibrillators in the city, but only 82 were publicly accessible around the clock.

The scheme's partners include the Yorkshire Ambulance Service

According to figures from the British Heart Foundation (BHF), the majority of cardiac arrests occur away from hospitals and medical facilities,

If a defibrillator is used with CPR within three to five minutes of a cardiac arrest, survival rates jump from 6% to 74%.

However, BHF research found that only one in four people who witness a cardiac arrest use CPR.

Joanne Watson from Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said it was critical to start life-saving treatment as soon as possible.

"Less than one in 10 people in the UK survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, partly because bystanders are reluctant to perform CPR and a lack of defibrillators," she said.

"What happens in the first few moments of a cardiac arrest, before the arrival of the ambulance service, is critical."