A LIFE-saving defibrillator is to be installed at Ayr Train Station, bringing the total up to almost 70 around South Ayrshire.

Defibrillators can be used by anyone without any specialist training and are vital to treating cardiac arrest - which is fatal within minutes.

In order to have the best chances of survival, someone with cardiac arrest needs CPR, and often a defibrillator used, within two to three minutes of their heart stopping and once council works are complete at Ayr’s train station, the defibrillator will be available to the public 24/7.

This comes just one month after a Mediana HeartOn A15 defibrillator was donated from the property care company, Richard & Starling to South Ayrshire Council, which is now kept at the housing office on Kyle Street in Ayr.

Cllr Peter Henderson said: “We hope we never have to use it, but it’s reassuring to know it’s there just in case.

“Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of premature death in this country but we are doing our bit in the Council to ensure defibrillators are more widely available across South Ayrshire.”

Joe Fitzpatrick, Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing commented: “This equipment will undoubtedly save lives and will tie in nicely with the recently announced initiative between the British Heart Foundation, NHS Scotland and NHS England to create a database of defibrillators across the United Kingdom”.

Pauline Howie, Chief Executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service added: “A cardiac arrest can strike anywhere, so ensuring life-saving equipment is available at railway stations across Scotland could save many more lives.

“We know that the sooner a patient receives treatment, the better their chances are of surviving a cardiac arrest so having these defibrillators close to hand will potentially have a huge impact.”