Do you know someone who has experienced a heart attack? Chances are, you can name at least five people. That is the bad news, but the good news is that with rapid help and the use of a defibrillator, the victim's chance of a good recovery are increased from 5% to 50%. The Rotary Club of Somer Valley assisted in installing an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) at Radstock Co-op last December and it has already been accessed once.

The Rotary Club have now installed another AED at Chilcompton Village Hall, where it will be available to the Village Hall users, the nearby school and the residents of Chilcompton. Surprisingly, even schoolchildren have cardiac arrests, so this is a reassuring facility for St Vigor's and St John's. The installation has been made possible by a generous grant from County Councillor, Harvey Siggs, and local businesses, A J Champion, Libra Travel, Massey Wilcox, Mulberry and Veales Garage.

The Parish Council paid for the electrical installation and the Village Hall have agreed to fund the ongoing electrical cost to light and heat the cabinet. Councillor Siggs said: "I am pleased to have been able to support this initiative which hopefully will seldom be used, but if it is only used once and saves a life, then it will have been worth it."

The AED is checked every two weeks by three members of Somer Valley Rotary Club who live nearby. The defibrillator battery has a life of five years unless it is used.

Should anyone in Chilcompton experience symptoms of a heart attack, the first action is to dial 999. If the First Responder car might be delayed and it is appropriate, the Ambulance Service will give out the code to open the cabinet and access the defibrillator. The operator will stay on the line, offering reassurance and advice. The use of the defibrillator requires no training and once the start button has been pressed, will talk the user through the process. It will not administer a shock if none is required.

As residents of Chilcompton will know, the Rotary Club holds the Wessex Beer Festival each year and this is only one of a number of fundraising events. Should you be interested in joining Somer Valley Rotary Club, please contact our current President, Norman Tooze, on: 01761 433155. Our next target is to install a defibrillator in Coleford, so why not join us, make new friends, have fun and help us achieve our target.

Maurice Chivers