LIFE saving machines to help people who suffer heart attacks will be installed in shopping centres and other public places, such as tourist spots, across the region.

Staff will be trained to use the machines, called defibrillators, which are used when people suffer heart attacks.

Greater Manchester Ambulance Service has been given 148 machines as part of a new national initiative.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) donated the equipment and nearly 2,300 defibrillators will be placed in public places across England.

The move will throw a lifeline to the tens of thousands of people who suffer a cardiac arrest in the community every year. The defibrillators, made possible through a £6 million injection from the Big Lottery Fund, will enable the ambulance services to place the semi-automated machines in a variety of public places.

Owners of the Crompton Place Shopping Centre in Bolton made the decision to buy their own defibrillator eight months ago.

Three staff have been fully trained in how to use the machines which give an electric impulse to the chest if someone has suffered a heart attack. Fortunately, the machines have not had to be used so far.

Crompton Place Centre Manager Mark Rycraft said: "The training our staff received was second to none and it is of great comfort to know that if anything happened we have the equipment and expertise to deal with it.

Around 270,000 people suffer a heart attack in the UK each year, about a third of whom die before reaching hospital.

John Burnside, Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Ambulance Service, said: "This will enable our Trust to continue and expand our work within the community as part of our First Responders Scheme. This is a fantastic boost for the people of Greater Manchester, who will ultimately benefit from this life saving programme".

Lynn Brown, Regional Director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The launch of the National Defibrillator Programme marks a significant step forward in emergency care for cardiac arrest victims and the BHF is proud to be a leading player behind it.

"When we meet people whose lives have been saved by defibrillators, we learn that their value is priceless. Now, with the crucial help of volunteers and the expertise of the ambulance trusts, we will be able to give many more people a second chance at life."

The money will also pay for community responders to be trained as life-savers in the community.

The new defibrillators will contribute towards the Department of Health target of placing 3,000 new defibrillators in public places in England.