A VILLAGE has installed its first defibrillator after winning a funding boost from an energy company.

Residents in North Aston, near Banbury, applied for a grant through Scottish and Southern Electricity Network (SSEN)'s Resilient Communities Fund, which is designed to help vulnerable or isolated customers.

Having successfully secured funding of £1,280, North Aston Parish Council has now installed the much needed defibrillator, with training sessions already underway to ensure residents in the community know exactly how it operates.

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The potentially life-saving device can be used to shock a heart that has gone into cardiac arrest back into rhythm before the arrival of an ambulance.

Evidence shows that they can triple the chances of survival.

The council thanked the energy provider, saying: “The grant has been amazing for us.

"In the short time since the defibrillator has been installed, more than 30 people have been trained in CPR and the use of the defibrillator, with additional sessions being arranged for the near future.”

This is the fourth year of SSEN running the Resilient Communities Fund and during this time has provided £2.13m of funding to 325 projects.

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Set up in 2014 as a two-year pilot scheme, SSEN has pledged to extend the fund to 2023 using a proportion of the income it receives from the industry regulator Ofgem.

Focused primarily on projects aimed at helping vulnerable or isolated people living in SSEN’s network areas, applications are considered by an independent fund panel.

New applicants will be invited to apply in early 2020.

A full report on the fund is available via ssen.co.uk/RCF/.