Schools fitted with defibrillators in North Lanarkshire

Defibrillation can be life saving for someone who has suffered a cardiac arrest (Model demonstrating an AED)

North Lanarkshire Council is set to be the first local authority in Scotland to install life-saving defibrillators in all of its high schools.

The machines deliver an electric shock to the heart in cases of cardiac arrest - when the heart stops pumping blood.

Survival chances of those affected by cardiac arrest decrease by 10% for every minute without defibrillation.

All 24 secondary schools in North Lanarkshire will be fitted with the machines before the end on March 2014.

The £70,000 cost of installing the automatic electronic defibrillator (AED) units is being met by the council, NHS Scotland and partner agency Amey.

Councillor Jim Logue, convener of learning and leisure services, said: "With many of our secondary schools open in the evening and at weekends for community and sports activities, having a readily accessible AED unit nearby could play a crucial role in helping to save lives at these locations."