LIVES are likely be saved by a new device installed at the home of Dartmouth Town Council.

A defibrillator – the third in the town - is now on the wall outside the Guildhall in Victoria Road.

Funds of £1,000 for the equipment were provided by the town council and donations of around £525 from the Dartmouth Community Defibrillator Fund have paid for the boxing.

Fund campaign chairman Malcolm Matthews said fund raising would continue to pay for ongoing insurance costs and replacement pads.

It is also hoped another defibrillator can be provided at the lower end of town when the hospital closes.

Mr Matthews has given demonstrations at the rowing club and to staff at the Guildhall on how to use the defibrillator and another information session will be held at the community cafe next month.

Defibrillator users are given an operating code and further instructions after dialling 999.

Other defibrillators can be found in the town outside Marks and Spencer in Mayor’s Avenue and at the Townstal Community Hall.

A fund raising coffee morning for defib funds will be held at the Royal Castle Hotel on Tuesday, February 28, from 10.30am to noon.