ALMOST 100 people were taught how to potentially save someone’s life after attending Chapmanslade’s defibrillator awareness day at the weekend.

Friends of Frome Hospital were on hand to demonstrate the £3,000 piece of equipment at the village hall on Saturday (September 26), after it was installed outside The Three Horseshoes in February.

Derek Trick, defibrillator project leader, said: “I’m delighted to say that we have about 90 people, who are non-medically trained, who now know how to respond in a situation which requires the defibrillator, which is absolutely super.“Friends of Frome Hospital purchased 20 of these defibrillators for the town and surrounding areas which included Chapmanslade and for the event the people were wonderful and it was well organised.

“These defibrillators are the most advanced in the world and it’s been said that even people like President Barack Obama have them in case of emergencies.”

Despite the demonstration day, the defibrillator can be operated by anybody with no previous experience as it features visual and audio instructions and also directly connects to 999 when used.

“A normal response time for an ambulance to reach Chapmanslade is about eight to ten minutes so this unit is specifically designed to at least let someone start some treatment,” added Mr Trick.

“Thankfully none of the 20 defibrillators have had to be used yet but these events are important as The last thing you want is people panicking or walking away from an emergency.”