DYMOCK will have two public defibrillators in the village by Christmas, with one on the wall of the Parish Hall on another in their village's old telephone kiosk, close to Well House Garage.

The two life-saving devices, each in their own secure box, will represent another example of the community spirit which saw Dymock being named Gloucestershire Village of the Year, for 2014.

The defibrillator scheme is being co-ordinated by the parish council, in conjunction with the South Western Ambulance Service and the local Community First Responder co-ordinator, Andrew Winterbotham.

Dymock Parish Councillor, Terry Ball said: "Andrew has volunteered to act as guardian for the units, responsible for checking on them and ensuring they are always ready if we need them."

The telephone kiosk has been purchased from BT for a nominal fee, and it will be repainted by local volunteers, Phil and Dean Acton.

The kiosk defibrillator has been donated by the Southern Western Ambulance Station, the secure and coded box was supplied by the Community HeartBeat Trust and it will be financed by public donations.

Cllr Ball said: "The second defibrillator will be on the wall of Dymock Parish Hall. This defibrillator, and a secure box. have been generously donated by Ruth Blandford of Normansland Far, in memory of her husband Stan, who died last year."

Cllr Ball said the two defibrillators will be registered by the Ambulance Service database, so that when a 999 comes in, for someone to use one, the caller can be given the code that opens the box.

He stressed that the hi-tech defibrillators, which can save the life of person suffering from a cardiac arrest, will not allow users to make a mistake, and will not work if the patient does not require defibrillation.

Ordinary members of the public will be able to use the devices, once they have the code from the Ambulance Service, but Dymock also has a few Community First Responders, who are trained.

Cllr Ball said: "We only have two or so. Some people how are trained for the task then find it's not for them. We are always looking for more."