Defibrillators have been installed at two major Southend recycling centres, serving more than 260,000 visitors every year.

The life-saving devices, located at the city's two household waste and recycling centres, are automatically guided with visual and voice prompts to assist in resuscitating a person if needed.

The defibrillators have been bought from St John Ambulance and will analyse heart rhythm to auto-deliver shock if required.

Ilana Shaw, Veolia Southend's general manager, said: "We have on average over 10,000 residents visiting each site every month, so while we hope the defibrillators never have to be used it’s reassuring to know that they are there and can be accessed by our fully-trained staff quickly in an emergency."

Cllr Lydia Hyde, cabinet member for Climate, Environment and Waste, Southend City Council, added: "Ensuring the safety of our residents is a top priority.

"These new defibrillators across public sites at our household waste and recycling centres is a crucial step towards that goal."