The town of Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire is the heart safe capital of the country, the Wisbech Standard has revealed.

Whittlesey has earned the title due to the 51 defibrillators that are installed around the town, with 33 public access defibrillators available for use in emergencies, while a further 16 are privately owned, and there are two new pieces of equipment waiting to be installed.

Deborah Slater, from charity Defibrillators for All, said that she’s amazed by what they’ve achieved in three years, and by the support from the local community.

She added that the charity has been providing defibrillator training to local residents and school children in the form of awareness and training sessions, as well as through booklets.

“Bigger plans are in store for 2017 and we have booked a screening bus for two days to screen the young people in the town,” Ms Slater revealed.

The efforts in Whittlesey have sparked similar campaigns in the towns of Murrow, Holme, Farcet, Yaxley and March.

Elsewhere in the UK, other towns are taking their first steps to becoming defibrillator hot spots. Malvern recently got its first public access defibrillator, with the equipment installed just outside the local fire station.

Local charity Heartstart Malvern was responsible for funding and installing the defibrillator, and has plans to install 50 further pieces of life-saving equipment in the area during 2017.

The group also intends to provide training to local people about how to use the defibrillators and to raise awareness of their importance