A COMMUNITY transport group in Malmesbury has become the first in Wiltshire to install a defibrillator on a minibus.

Malmesbury and District Community Transport helps older and less able people travel around the district.

The group decided to buy the £1,000 life-saving machine amidst fears that a passenger could have a heart attack.

Potentially, the minibus, whose drivers are both qualified in first aid, could even respond to an emergency as the whereabouts of the vehicle can also be tracked by the ambulance service and police.

Town councillor Ray Sanderson, chairman of the Community Heartbeat Trust, said: “It was obvious that there could be a problem with someone maybe having a heart attack so we decided to purchase a defibrillator.

“It was forward thinking and we know that it is also the first minibus in Wiltshire that carries a defibrillator.”

He added: “The ambulance service could ask the bus driver to divert to any incidents and use the defib or to hand it over.

“If it saves one life then it will have been worth a thousand quid.”

Defibrillators have already been installed at a number of spots in Malmesbury in case of emergency, notably at the front of the town hall at Cross Hayes.