THE Buckland Box is set to get its own AED and residents received training from the HeartStart group as the BBC filmed.

Kingsbridge Estuary Rotary Club’s HeartStart group went to Thurlestone Parish Hall on Thursday, February 4, to teach residents of East and West Buckland how to perform CPR and how to use an AED or Automatic External Defibrillator.

The Buckland Box, the old phone box in West Buckland, has received its new AED, bought with funds raised by the local community and the British Heart Foundation, and is awaiting its external storage box before being up and running and accessible at any time.

The BHF have also given Buckland teaching material in the form of inflatable mannequins and DVDs, which can be lent to those who want to learn or revise their resuscitation skills.

Anna Martin, Buckland Box, said: ‘HeartStart’s presentation was excellent, and everyone was able to have a chance to resuscitate a mannequin.

‘The meeting was preceded by Dr Carl Gwinnett, president of the Resuscitation Council, being interviewed by the BBC and demonstrating the use of an AED.’

The BBC were interested in raising the profile of AEDs being stolen, although nothing of that nature has occurred in the South Hams.

There is no second-hand market for AEDs and they contain no re-saleable parts so their theft if pointless, and potentially, life-threatening if the removal of a device prevents its use in a cardiac arrest emergency.

You can find out more about the Buckland Box on their Facebook page and keep an eye out in the Gazette for news of the AED being installed in the next few weeks.

Once it is installed, it will be added to our defibrillator map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en&authuser=0&mid=z1a5INJFr8E8.k2LXRf8GPQXo