PORLOCK and Porlock Weir now have defibrillators and 100 people have been trained to use them – thanks to a life being saved during a funeral.
Some Porlock residents were at the service in Minehead last summer when one of the mourners had a massive heart attack.
Death would have been inevitable, but he was revived thanks to the rapid response of three nurses sitting behind him.
It took 25 minutes for the first responders to arrive and 45 minutes for an ambulance to attend the scene.
The Porlock residents realised that, with the prevalence of elderly people in their village and the ongoing problems with NHS, their community was very vulnerable.
So they set about raising money not only for a defibrillator but also for training for 100 people.
Dr Ed Ford, West Somerset trauma specialist and GP from Irnham Lodge surgery, undertook a series of training classes, giving participants the confidence to administer help in an emergency.
Dr Ford performed the official launch of the first defibrillator outside Abbeyfield, in Porlock, on Tuesday (January 31).