TRANSPORT for Wales will be installing 200 defibrillators across 80 per cent of their stations in Wales.

The defibrillators will be installed over the next 18 months and will be available to the public for 24 hours a day.

Defibrillators are a portable device that can give a casualty’s heart an electric shock when it has stopped beating, normally in a sudden cardiac arrest.

Using a defibrillator within three minutes of a cardiac arrest can improve a person's chance of survival by as much as 70 per cent.

The importance of access to defibrillators was highlighted recently when Danish footballer Christian Erikson collapsed at the Euro 2020 game against Finland.

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He suffered a cardiac arrest and his life was saved thanks to the quick intervention of doctors using CPR and a defibrillator.

Karl Gilmore, Transport for Wales Rail Infrastructure Director, said: “We have long recognised how important defibrillators can be as a life-saving tool, so we’re delighted to now be in a position to install these devices across the Wales and Borders network.

“The safety of our customers and colleagues is our top priority and as part of work with the provider Aero Healthcare, our staff will be offered training on how to use the defibrillators.

“We want to make the Wales and Borders network the safest in the UK and an important part of this is having the right facilities at our stations to help people in the case of an emergency.

“We are also working with various healthcare colleagues and charities, who are helping us plan how we can provide training on this life-saving equipment, deep into our communities.”

The defibrillators will be registered The Circuit, which is the national defibrillator network, and the ambulance service.