PARISH councillors in Nether Stowey have bought a new potentially life saving community defibrillator for the village.

The defibrillator, which is available 24 hours a day, was fitted last week to the outside of the village public toilets in Castle Street, next to the Thomas Poole public library.

It is designed for community use and is not kept locked.

A council spokesperson said: “Please note, at the moment the defibrillator is not yet registered with the ambulance service.

“The process has started but it can take a couple of weeks before it goes live on their systems.

“In an emergency you can tell them where it is.

“In the event that you do have to use it, please return it to the parish office or a parish councillor so it can be reset and prepared ready for use again.

“We need to do this as quickly as possible.

“We are also required to inform the ambulance service, who keep records of when a community defibrillator is used and the outcomes.”

The council is arranging a free ‘awareness training’ session for villagers which will be run by the Community Heartbeat Trust to show how the equipment should be used and what to do in an emergency.

The spokesperson said: “The equipment has to be regularly checked and replaced as necessary and the parish council has taken responsibility for its maintenance and upkeep.”

Nether Stowey also has a public defibrillator outside the Quantock Medical Centre which is owned and managed by the GP surgery.

Defibrillators are used to automatically send an electric shock to a person’s heart muscle to return it to its normal rhythm, and the earlier one is used, the better the chances of survival.

More information is available from the council by calling 01278 733779 or emailing [email protected].