A DEFIBRILLATOR funded by local councillors has been installed at Petersfield Community Centre off Love Lane.

Centre manager Emma Bunday said: “With the much-publicised delays for ambulances these days, the trustees felt it was important to have everything on site that may possibly save lives in the case of emergencies.

“So there is now an emergency defibrillator available in the centre for anyone who needs it, kindly funded jointly by our five local East Hampshire District Council councillors and the Petersfield U3A.”

The news comes just as Hampshire County Council announced defibrillators are to be installed at every household waste recycling centre in Hampshire including the one in Bedford Road in Petersfield.

The move comes after a 60-year-old truck driver suffered a heart attack while at the Marchwood tip and died. Now the council says it is fast-tracking the installation of defibrillators at all household waste recycling centres.