PARISH councillors in Oxenhope have agreed to go ahead with a scheme to provide a pair of publicly-accessible defibrillators in their village.

They were asked to consider a report drawn up by their clerk, Elaine Pearson, who along with Cllr Joyce Harrop, had met a representative from Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) to decide which scheme the council should choose.

In her report to councillors, Mrs Pearson recommended an initiative called Heartsafe Communities.

She said: "Heartsafe Communities will provide a reconditioned defibrillator with a two-year warranty for £700, and allow the parish council two years to pay £995 for a new defibrillator with a seven-year warranty.

"Both Heartsafe Communities and YAS would provide the casing for the defibrillator and two hours of defibrillator training."

She added she had been informed the Co-op store may have funding for defibrillators, and will be pursuing this possibility along with finding out whether cash might be available from the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.

She said this will enable one defibrillator to be installed at the Oxenhope Co-op in Station Road and one at Oxenhope Railway Station.

Parish council chairman, Cllr Ken Eastwood, said being able to provide these devices would be a "wonderful" thing for the village.

Publicly-accessible defibrillators, which are already in place in and around Keighley, are situated inside secure but eye-catching cabinets sited at prominent locations.

Anyone who dials 999 and reports a possible cardiac arrest can be directed to the nearest defibrillator by the emergency operator.

They will then be given a code to allow them to remove the defibrillator from its cabinet and take it to the patient.

Oxenhope parish councillors were also asked whether they would be prepared to support the revival of a First Responders team in the village.

Cllr Pearson said: "During our meeting with Dave Jones from YAS, I enquired what would be required to resurrect a First Responders team in Oxenhope.

"All Mr Jones requires is six willing volunteers. If members are agreed, this could be made known to parishioners via the Facebook page of Oxenhope online."

Commenting on the effectiveness of First Responders, Cllr Harrop said: "It's brilliant. You're on a rota, you're trained, you're well looked after and it's totally voluntary."

Members agreed to Cllr Eastwood's suggestion that a call for volunteers should be made via the council's own social media to see if residents are interested in becoming First Responders.

Community First Responders are trained to attend emergency calls received by the ambulance service and to provide care until the ambulance arrives.

Volunteers are valued for being able to arrive at an emergency scene in a matter of minutes, as they are only sent to calls in their local area.