A NEW lease of life has been given to an out of service telephone box which now contains life-saving equipment.

Holt Parish Council took control of the decommissioned BT telephone box, near the bus stop on the A443, and decided to fundraise to turn it into a defibrillator unit.

With the help of Dave Harford, community first responder co-ordinator, and people living in the village, the unit is now up and running.

A lick of green paint has replaced the former iconic red hue and the signs which once read 'telephone' have been changed to read 'Defibrillator'.

Parish councillor Pete Mobbs thanked Mr Harford for helping them to secure the defibrillator supplied by West Midlands Ambulance Service.

He said: "When BT turned around and said they wanted to stop the use of the phone box we were left with a phone box that didn't achieve anything or do anything.

"We really believed a defibrillator was worthwhile - it is one of those things you never hope to have to use but it will always be there if there is an emergency."

The parish council were inspired by Hallow Parish Council who have fundraised for a unit to be placed on the side of the A E Clegg Vauxhall dealership.

Twenty one people living in Holt have been taught CPR and how to use the unit during a session run by Mr Harford and his colleague Tim Hodges.

However, the defibrillator also gives voice prompts to instruct people how to use them in an emergency.

Mr Harford said: "Early defibrillation is key to survival when someone is in cardiac arrest.

"They are very easy to use, you just follow the voice instructions.

"If people contact me we would be able to see if we can help.

"Cleggs have been fantastic, they've taken the cost of running it for free, they were keen to help out and very proud to have one on the side of their building."