Residents have revamped an old telephone box to provide a village with a life-saving defibrillator.

When BT announced it was going to take its telephone box out of service, the community of Osmington came together to restore the box and install the emergency machine.

The parish council bought the disused box off the phone company for the princely sum of £1 and set about raising the money needed to install the defibrillator.

Parish and county councillor Nick Ireland said: “The parish council bought the box from BT in January when it was agreed it would be put to some community use.”

The council sought support from the community to see the project through to completion and ran several fundraising events to raise the £2000 necessary to purchase the defibrillator.

Thanks to a generous £1,500 donation from the Osmington Society and a further £500 from PGL, the iconic BT box has now been restored, re-equipped and repainted with a specific shade of pillar box red paint.

Inside, there is a direct 999 line and step-by-step instructions for those using the machine.

The ‘telephone’ sign has been replaced with a new ‘defibrillator’ sign and BT have agreed to keep the box lit up a night so it can be easily seen.

This is the second defibrillator to be installed in the village this year after the parish council applied to the British Heart Foundation to affix one the village hall.

Next month, the council is partnering up with PGL to run a training session to help residents feel comfortable using the equipment.

Cllr Ireland said: "They are actually not that difficult to use, it’s more a case of following your instincts and following the instructions, but the most important thing to do in that situation is to call 999."

A plaque has also been put inside the red telephone box naming all those people who have contributed to the community project.

Resident Brigadier Jeff Little said: "It is a super use for the red box which means it will be preserved and have a real role into the future."