Melton police vehicles are equipped with life-saving devices

The Leicestershire force has fitted 30 of the devices to allow officers to treat anyone they encounter while on duty who is suffering with a sudden cardiac arrest until paramedics arrive.

The portable electronic automated external defibrillators (AED) will be carried in police vehicles at the start of duty and returned to the local HQ at the end of a shift.

Chief Inspector Duncan Southall, the force lead for the project, said: “Officers take an oath to protect life.

“They attend a variety of different incidents every day and can come across a few that involve life threatening trauma.

“There may be times where officers are first on the scene at a police and medical emergency and, in these instances, the defibrillators will better equip them to start the chain of survival to help to save a life.”

He added: “AEDs now form part of our standard first aid training for all officers.

“However, we would expect members of the public to continue to go through the correct channels and call for an ambulance if they require medical assistance.”

Ben Ryrie, a community trainer a East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), said: “It is great that there are now more defibrillators across Leicestershire.

“When someone is in cardiac arrest the first step is calling 999, the next step is CPR and defibrillation to give the patient the best possible chance of survival.

“For every minute that CPR doesn’t happen a person chance of survival reduces by 10 per cent.

“The first port of call in these situations is always the ambulance service but it’s nice to know the police are equipped if needed.”