A NEW community public access defibrillator has been installed at Wotton-under-Edge Bowls Club.

It is located on the wall of the club’s building, facing the road - Dryleaze Court – and, as with all defibs, it is a potentially life-saving piece of equipment designed to help resuscitate someone suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.

Bowls club chairwoman, Alison Hodgkins, paid tribute to the hard work of the club’s members in raising the money to fund the defibrillator, and she had special thanks for the very generous donation made by the club’s president, Vernon Jotcham.

Dr David Owen, representing the Defib Awareness Group, said: “A member of the bowls club suggested to me a little over a year ago that a defib would be a sensible investment for the club.

“After a little discussion, the club was keen to see this benefit the whole community.

“I am hugely impressed and grateful that the club was willing and able to achieve this goal.”

He added: “Defibs such as this one are specifically designed to be used by any member of the public.

“They are straightforward to use, they give clear recorded voice instructions, and the main thing to reassure would be helpers is that no harm can come to the patient by using one.”

It is the first of a series of defibs planned for Wotton to bolster the two originals – one of which is on the sports pavilion at Synwell and the other by the main entrance door to the Civic Centre.

The bowls club’s new defib is well placed to serve the area which includes Dryleaze Court, Dryleaze, Merlin Haven, Westfields, the top end of Bradley Street and Ellerncroft Road.