DORCHESTER is now a safer place to shop thanks to the arrival of new life saving equipment.

The town’s BID (Business Improvement District) has purchased new portable Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), which can shock the heart to restart after a cardiac arrest, to add to five static machines already in place.

St John Ambulance will also support the £3,500 investment by providing free training for 12 people on how to use the machines.

Phil Gordon from the Dorchester BID said: “The defibrillators in the town cannot be taken out of the buildings where they’re installed, which makes them totally useless outside of their location.

“These new portable units will be located in a triangle around town – the Post Office, Goulds Fashion and The Royal Oak – and there will be two people trained at each of these locations, plus a further six around the town, to make sure there will always be someone on hand in case of an emergency.

“This is a true legacy project that will provide a lifeline to people using Dorchester town centre for many years to come, making it an even safer place to shop.

In the United Kingdom one person suffers a cardiac arrest every two minutes and as many as one in three die before they reach hospital but survival rates increase by more than 50 per cent if a defibrillator is used within the first four minutes.

Whilst using a defibrillator without training would not cause someone harm, the training sessions provided by the St John Ambulance aim to give people valuable practice and the confidence to use them in an emergency.

South West regional director for St John’s commercial training division John Cavanagh said: “We welcome how seriously the team at Dorchester BID is taking first aid – access to an AED can make a real difference.

“Sadly, up to 140,000 people die in situations where first aid could have given them a chance to live, yet fewer than one in five people know even basic first aid.

“In Dorset, St John Ambulance has four training centres – Dorchester, Poole, Shaftesbury and Weymouth – with courses running every day in key life saving skills.

“Thanks to this investment by local businesses and our expert trainers, people in Dorchester won’t have to be helpless, and they might save the life of a member of their family, a friend, a neighbour, or a visitor to this vibrant county town.”