An old phone box, a local school, a village hall and a golf club are key locations in a project in Llangattock Vibon Avel which could ultimately save lives.

Every year in Wales 8,000 cardiac arrests occur outside hospital, with tragic consequences, but the provision of public defibrillators (AEDs) is dramatically improving survival rates.

Llangattock Vibon Avel is a sparsely-populated rural area which attracts many thousands of tourists every year to historic sites like Skenfrith Castle. When a local resident or visitor faces a crisis of any kind, time is of the essence...

Public meetings and a local survey showed widespread support for a defibrillator scheme and, with support and advice from the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust, the Village Life Community Project was born.

Village Life has been busy raising money locally, with additional backing and support from the British Heart Foundation and Abergavenny Round Table.

Another project partner is the Rolls of Monmouth Golf Club, which has been providing access to its new AED at the clubhouse.

Three more AEDs are now being installed, one already in place at Skenfrith Village Hall, the others to follow at Maypole village phone-box and Cross Ash Primary School - the latter thanks to a donation of £1,000 from Abergavenny Round Table.

Following on from an introductory session held in April, the next step is to provide training sessions for people to learn more about the AEDs and resuscitation life skills.

Four members of the project team are being trained by Welsh Ambulance to run the scheme, using a special training AED and manikin. Sessions will be local, informal and friendly, providing good opportunities to learn and practise what to do.

Experience has shown in similar projects that many people are deterred by a lack of confidence. But the team behind Village Life stress that becoming a lifesaver is not that difficult - you just need to be willing to have a go!

While the focal point is raising funds to provide the defibrillators and train as many people as possible to use them the project has a broader long-term goal.

In establishing networks of local volunteers, it also aims to bring isolated communities closer together, with people prepared and able to help each other out in a crisis, whatever that might be.

“It’s very encouraging that we have 100 people on our data base who either attended the introductory meeting in April or have asked to be kept in touch with progress,” said one of the organisers Tom Pitts-Tucker.

You can learn more about the project from Village Life volunteers on stalls at Cross Ash Show this Saturday (August 20) and Llangattock Ploughing Match on September 18.

And there’s another major fund-raiser on the horizon.

On September 18 at 7.30pm there will be an Opera Gala at The Rolls of Monmouth Golf Club, with international soloists and a Welsh National Opera pianist, organised and conducted by Andrew Greenwood.

Tickets cost £25 and are available by emailing [email protected] or calling 01600-228957.