A LIFE saving piece of equipment has been unveiled outside a church.

The 24-hour public access defibrillator has been installed outside of the foyer of the church hall at Hadleigh Methodist Church, in Chapel Lane, Hadleigh.

Roger Kingston, from the church, said: “After nearly two years of planning and fundraising headed up by Claire Gunn and Mike Tanner we have now achieved our goal.”

Defibrillators can be used to restart a person’s heart after it stops, for example after a cardiac arrest or heart attack.

Anyone who needs to use it can dial 999 and they will be given the code to open the case to access the defibrillator by ambulance call handlers.

The devices are easy to use and will not work if it detects the person has a heartbeat so they are safe to use.

Clear instruction are provided so anyone can use it in an emergency.