Life-saving cardiac machines which can be used by untrained people have been installed at key locations in rural villages in the Chew Valley, Somerset.
The portable defibrillators, stored in locked cabinets, could help to save the lives of people in cardiac arrest.
Anyone dialling 999 when a patient collapses will be directed to the nearest unit and given an access code.
They will be instructed in how to use the defibrillators which administer a shock to restore the heart's rhythm.
"People have them by their telephone or coffee machine in the States"
The machines, each costing £1,000, are being installed at busy locations such as the High Street.
They were paid for by local estate agent, Clive Setter.
He said: "They are commonplace in other parts of the world.
"People have them by their telephone or coffee machine in the United States.
"They are now useable by anybody, even without training."
Mr Setter said the portable defibrillators could help to save lives while patients waited for an ambulance, which had further to travel because of the rural location.
Machines currently installed at:
Machines to be installed by 16 November at:
Further machines planned at:
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