NEARLY 100 lifesaving heart-start machines will be installed at public places in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

The heart difibrillators are being allocated to ambulance services across the region as part of a campaign to save lives.

Having a semi-automatic heart-start machine at hand can dramatically improve the chances of survival if someone has a heart attack.

Ninety-six defibrillators are being given to the region's two ambulance services as part of a scheme run by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Paid for out of a £6m grant from the Big Lottery Fund, the biggest award in the region was to the Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service (Tenyas), which was given 60 machines.

The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), which covers Durham, Wearside, Tyneside and Northumberland, was given 36 defibrillators.

Nationally, 2,270 heart-start machines are being allocated. The funding to each ambulance service also pays for training equipment and the appointment of a community defibrillation officer.

The BHF has already funded more than 2,000 defibrillators for community sites and schemes around the UK, as well as more than 1,100 heart-start machines for GPs.

Since 1996, 5,400 defibrillators have been handed over by the BHF, at a cost of £14m.

Seven out of ten cardiac arrests happen outside hospital.

Currently in the UK, only two to three per cent of these people survive.

When someone suffers a cardiac arrest, their chances of survival drop by up to ten per cent for every minute that passes.

Performing CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) can double a person's chances of survival. Having a defibrillator at hand can increase survival chances by a third.

Ray Walker, head of community safety and emergency planning at the Tenyas NHS Trust, said: "This is a major boost for Tenyas and the communities we work in partnership with."

The NEAS will place some machines with community responder schemes in Durham and Northumberland.

Tenyas plans to install defibrillators in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough shopping centres, Stokesley Leisure Centre and rural locations, including Hutton Rudby.