A POTENTIALLY lifesaving device which will serve the local community has been installed at the site of a West Thurrock-based business.

Powered Access Hire firm Nationwide Platforms has completed the purchase and installation of a defibrillator at their depot located on Oliver Road.

Registered with the Ambulance Services, the device is available for use in the event of an emergency by both employees and the general public in the immediate vicinity.

Health, Safety and Environmental Director, Mark Keily said: "Putting people's safety first is at the very heart of Nationwide Platforms and nothing could be more important than the health and wellbeing of the people that operate within our business.

"The roll out of these defibrillators at our sites really could mean the difference between life and death.

"We found that some of our company sites are more than six miles away from the nearest potentially lifesaving defibrillators. And with the closest Accident and Emergency facilities sometimes more than 10 miles away, closing the gap on defibrillator locations not just for our employees but also the communities we operate in could only ever be a good thing."

He added: "The defibrillators are within easy access for public use and we have also trained designated employees at all of our sites in the hope that should someone suffer a cardiac arrest we're doing our very best to significantly improve their chances of survival."