THE Dalesway Hotel in Ilkley is pleased to be the home of the latest defibrillator in town, funded by Ilkley Parish Council and available 24 hours a day.

The defibrillator is in a very prominent place outside the hotel on the A65 and is available in case of incidents of cardiac arrest.

In an emergency, people can call 999 and the operator will give a code to unlock the cabinet. The equipment is fully automated and will talk users through the process of defibrillation.

The device gives a high energy electric shock to the heart through the chest wall to someone who is in cardiac arrest. This high energy shock is called defibrillation, and it is an essential life saving step in the chain of survival.

Ilkley Rotary meets at The Dalesway monthly on the first Wednesday of the month at noon for an hour. The idea for the defibrillator was suggested at one of these meeting after hearing about how popular postman Mark Smith suffered a heart attack just as he entered the hotel for their famous Sunday carvery. The ambulance took 30 minutes to arrive and the responder just afterwards, but only just in time to save Mark, for which he is forever grateful. Ian Collins, Dalesway landlord and barman Jack did everything they could to help Mark but Ian now says the defibrillator gives greater reassurance to most who are unsure what to do correctly.