The British Heart Foundation are urging people who look after a defibrillator in South Ayrshire to register it online – as it could save lives.

It comes after The National Defibrillator Database revealed there are no public defibs in Ayr, with the closest in Dunure.

However, this does not mean that there are none in the town at all.

Chloe Arthur, a senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation said: “A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time, and knowing where the nearest defibrillator can be the difference between life and death.

“The survival rate for out of hospital cardiac arrests in the UK is less than one in 10, and every second without CPR or defibrillation can reduce the chances of survival by up to 10 per cent, so those very first moments are vital.”

She went on to discuss the best way to combat the issues surrounding a lack of knowledge of where your closest defibrillator may be.

Chloe added: “It’s estimated that public access defibrillators are used in less than 10 per cent of out of hospital cardiac arrests – and this is partly because 999 call handlers don’t always have all the necessary information to direct bystanders to the nearest defibrillator.

“To help address this, we’re now asking everyone who looks after a defibrillator to upload it on a pioneering database called The Circuit: The National Defibrillator Network.

“The network maps defibrillators across the UK, allowing ambulance call handlers to direct bystanders to the nearest defibrillator when somebody has a cardiac arrest, ultimately helping to increase survival rates.

“So, if you, or somebody you know looks after a defibrillator, please make sure it’s uploaded on The Circuit – it could end up saving a life.”

To register a defibrillator, The Circuit is available online at https://www.thecircuit.uk/ .