Phone box converted to house defibrillator

A DISUSED village telephone box in a Caithness village is making a comeback... as a potential life-saver.

The telephone has been replaced with a defibrillator which could make a vital difference in an emergency.

The change was the result of an initiative by Sinclair's Bay Community Council, after it was mooted by vice-chairman Max Hughes.

He saw the potential of the defibrillator while on a first aid course in connection with his work and the community council was unanimous in supporting his suggestion that it would provide a vital service for Keiss village.

BT allowed the council to "adopt" the decommissioned phone kiosk and the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks stepped in with a grant of £1400 from a special community fund, meeting the entire cost of the defibrillator.

Robert Begg, boss of local firm Robert Begg Electrics, volunteered to install the unit free of charge in a heated cabinet. The code to access the defibrillator in an emergency, is "C1 then rotate the handle clockwise".

The defibrillator has been registered with the Scottish Ambulance Service, who will advise on its location in the case of an emergency.