A HEART-STARTING hairdresser who has raised £10,000 to get four public defibrillators in her town centre is urgently seeking businesses to host them.

Susan Handy, who runs Mary Handy Hair and Beauty in Wallingford (named after her mother), has raised the cash with collection tins in her shop and others.

She has already bought two of the lifesaving devices and has the cash to buy two more, but first she needs to find shops, pubs or offices willing to host them.

The mum-of-one said her first attempts threw up a host of objections, so she wanted to persuade firms of the overwhelming public good they could do.

The 49-year-old said: "When I tried talking to businesses it was disheartening: people said their buildings were listed or landlords wouldn't let them.

"I want to say to the town 'come on – these things can save lives, let's get together as a community and put these up on the walls'."

Miss Handy, who lives in Thame, has raised the cash over a number of years with donations from generous shoppers in Wallingford.

One of her regulars at the salon drops £10 in the Heart of Wallingford kitty every time she visits.

She added: "It is all raised from my wonderful clients: I have boxes around town and people are so kind, I want to tell everyone about it."

Using previous donations Miss Handy has already bought three of the £2,700 devices and put them in Wallingford School, a town sports park and a primary school.

Now she says she wants to focus her efforts on the town centre, which currently only has one external defib.

Her sister Sinead has helped get 13 defibrillators put up in Thame and Miss Handy said: "Currently you've got a better chance of surviving in Thame than in Wallingford."

Public access defibrillators, which provide instructions for their use, can be used to restart the heart of a person having a cardiac arrest.

Oxfordshire ambulance commander Dick Tracey helped lead a campaign over the four years up to his retirement last year to get hundreds put up in the county.

Miss Handy said the only obligations on people willing to host one of the devices were installing the case on a wall and providing a very small electricity supply.

Hosts often agree to the £30 cost of replacing the two pads inside if the device is ever used, but Miss Handy said she would even be willing to cover that cost.

Miss Handy said: "I think some people are a bit scared about it so we need to educate people.

"Wallingford has a bit of an ageing population, and this is a really small commitment which could hopefully make a huge difference."