RURAL residents have taken potentially life-saving measures to protect themselves in case of medical emergency.

Eight villages have bought and installed defibrillators in prominent locations thanks to grants from Richmondshire District Council’s communities opportunity fund (COF).

The equipment offers vital life-saving support in areas up to 60 miles away from emergency hospital care.

John Blackie, leader of Richmondshire District Council, said: “Many of the villages where defibrillators have been installed are among the most remote locations in the country from hospitals with specialist accident and emergency units.

“Local GP surgeries are few and far between, and ambulance response times, despite the best efforts of front line staff, can be very protracted.

“Self-reliance is the only answer, and those machines along with the first-rate community volunteers who have been trained to use them can mean the difference between life and death.”

Gunnerside, Muker, Burton-cum-Walden, Marske and New Forrest, Preston-under-Scar, Aysgarth, Thwaite and Hunton have received cash help over the last two years for the equipment.

The grants were awarded in conjunction with the Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

They provided free cabinets to house the defibrillators along with training to villagers on how to use the equipment to enable them to administer basic life support until the emergency services arrive.

Every year almost 30,000 people suffer from a cardiac arrest in the UK and unless defibrillation is performed within the first few minutes after a the arrest, the chances of successful resuscitation becomes markedly reduced, but with a defibrillator survival rates are as high as 74 per cent.