Every household waste recycling site in East Yorkshire, including Beverley, has been presented with life-saving equipment.
Every site at East Riding of Yorkshire Council is equipped with a defibrillator machine, in case of an emergency and visitors or staff need it urgently.
When someone shows signs of having a heart attack, the portable, hand-held devices send an electric shock to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat.
In order to be on the safe side, the council has invested £7,000 in the machines.
FCC Environment, which manages the household waste recycling sites for the council, has specially trained its staff to operate and maintain them.
Councillor Chris Matthews, the council’s portfolio holder for environment and climate change, said: “The waste and recycling team has bought these defibrillators as a precaution.
“Our recycling sites are generally in rural locations and if an accident were to happen on-site, there may not be easy access to medical help apart from waiting for an ambulance.
“This way, action can be taken quickly to save someone’s life potentially. Obviously, we hope they never get used, but they are there if needed.
“We get people from every demographic using these sites every day, including older people with medical conditions, so it makes sense to have something in place to help, just in case.”
Only trained personnel may use the defibrillators during the opening hours of each site, from 10am to 5pm.
