Defibrillators should be installed at waste and recycling centres across Hertfordshire, a councillor has suggested – following an incident in which a visitor became seriously unwell.

Recently a visitor to the household waste and recycling centre in Stevenage suffered a suspected heart attack.

He was given vital life-saving CPR by a trained staff member, until paramedics arrived.

The incident was highlighted at a meeting of the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership, on Monday (April 29).

Cllr Seamus Quilty – who is responsible for environment and transport at Hertsmere Borough Council – suggested defibrillators could be available at waste and recycling sites.

And he said individual county councillors may even be willing to meet the costs from their locality budgets.

Cllr Quilty, who is also a county councillor, said: “I think it’s a really good opportunity to get these onto these sites. And I think if you were to ask any county councillor in an area adjoining these sites, they would use their locality budget to fund them.

“I think this is a golden opportunity to do it. This is a good thing to do – it’s good practice. It could well save lives.”