• Seven defibrillators have been installed in key locations in rural villages on Grosvenor’s Eaton Estate, near Chester, to help keep communities safe.

• The estate has produced maps which detail the specific locations, including What3Words references, which have been shared with residents and commercial tenants, posted on noticeboards as well as via the parish councils.

• The defibrillators have also been added to the National Defibrillator Network, known as The Circuit, where people can find their nearest equipment.

• The equipment has already been called into action after a cyclist riding through Aldford village fell ill.

A series of life-saving defibrillators have been installed in key locations in rural villages on Grosvenor’s Eaton Estate, near Chester, to help keep communities safe.

Seven defibrillators have been installed by the communities and the estate within the village halls in Aldford, Saighton, Churton and Waverton, as well as at St Mary’s Church, Eccleston, and at Aldford Village Square and Lea Hall Farm, Aldford, where they are easily accessible at any time of day.

Defibrillators, sometimes called a defib, an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) or a PAD (Public Access Defibrillator), give an electric shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest.

Using a defibrillator alongside performing CPR can significantly increase someone's chances of survival but there isn’t always one close by. It is believed that for every minute it takes for a defibrillator to reach someone and deliver a shock, their chances of survival lower.

The defibrillators have also been added to the National Defibrillator Network, known as The Circuit, where people can find their nearest equipment. If you need a defibrillator in an emergency, the 999-emergency operator may be able to tell you where one is so you can ask someone to get it.

The equipment has already been called into action after a cyclist riding through Aldford fell ill recently. A first-aid trained Grosvenor employee, who lives in the village and was quickly on the scene, administered one of the defibrillators, restarting the cyclist’s heart before the emergency services arrived.

Annabel Farbon, Agent, Grosvenor’s Eaton Estate, said:

The estate villages are thriving rural communities with lots of people living, working and visiting them. The communities and the estate have come together to install defibrillators in central locations in the villages meaning that if someone falls ill, this potentially lifesaving equipment will be close-by, increasing their chances of survival.

We have also produced maps which detail the specific locations, including What3Words references, which have been shared with residents and commercial tenants, posted on noticeboards as well as via the parish councils so as many people as possible know where to find their nearest defibrillator.