A supermarket giant is set to introduce defibrillators in its south Bucks stores, providing “lifesaving support” to customers and staff members.

Following Tesco’s decision this week to donate surplus food to vulnerable people in the area, it has today announced it will stock defibrillators in its Amersham, Gerrards Cross, High Wycombe (including Loudwater), and Princes Risborough stores in a joint initiative with the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Statistics from the BHF show more than 30,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest outside of hospitals in the UK every year, but less than one in ten survive.

Tony Hoggett, Tesco’s chief operating officer, said: “We are always looking for ways to help the communities we serve, and we know that having a defibrillator to hand can mean saving the life of someone suffering a cardiac arrest.

“This initiative has the potential to make a real difference to customers and colleagues all over the country.”

Sarah Askew, BHF’s head of survival, said for every minute without CPR and defibrillation, a person’s chance of survival decreases by around 10 percent.

She said: “We are delighted that Tesco is supporting BHF’s Nation of Lifesavers campaign by making public access defibrillators available in all its larger stores.

“Knowing vital CPR skills and having access to a defibrillator can often be the difference between life and death.”