Bournemouth Airport-based JETS has bought a portable defibrillator after two of its employees suffered heart attacks.

The aircraft maintenance and overhaul company’s health and safety co-ordinator, Kayleigh Garlick said: “Two of our engineers have had heart attacks in the last year – Tony Purvis at home and Paul Blears at work,” she said.

“Both of them are fine, thankfully, and back at work now but it made us think about what we would be able to do in an emergency.

“Buying this defibrillator is good for us and provides peace of mind for everyone who works here.

“We’ve always used St John Ambulance for our first aid training.

“They’re wonderful and we’ve all had great experiences.

“Adding this vital equipment will make it even easier for us to be the difference between a life lost and a life saved.”

In addition to providing the equipment, St John Ambulance has delivered training to make sure the company’s first aiders can respond quickly in an emergency.

In the UK, one person suffers a cardiac arrest every two minutes and as many as one in three will die before they reach hospital.

Survival rates increase by more than 50 per cent if a defibrillator is used within the first four minutes.

John Cavanagh, South West regional director for St John Ambulance’s commercial training division, said: “We welcome how seriously everyone at JETS is taking first aid.

“Sadly, up to 140,000 people die in situations where first aid could have given them a chance to live.

“Yet fewer than one in five people know even basic first aid.”