A regional daily has launched a campaign to “save lives” by getting 25 defibrillators installed on its patch.

The Express & Star, Wolverhampton, wants to raise £57,000 as part of its ‘#HeartSafe15′ campaign, which will pay for the defibrillators to be put in place across the city centre.

The scheme is being backed by rock star Noddy Holder, as well as West Midlands Ambulance Service and Wolverhampton City Council, with readers and businesses being asked to donate cash to the scheme.

Fewer than one in 10 people survive a cardiac arrest in Great Britain if it occurs outside a hospital, but using defibrillators in the first few minutes of an arrest with CPR can increase the chance of resuscitating someone by 70pc.

Paramedic Lee Farley, left, with fundraiser Jamie Richards and Express & Star editor Keith Harrison outside the Express & Star’s offices

A piece announcing the campaign’s launch reads: “Our #HeartSafe15 campaign is aimed at doing exactly as the name suggests – to make Wolverhampton safer when someone goes into cardiac arrest.

“By having defibrillators located around the city, it will mean that emergency help is no more than a couple of hundred feet away.”

Deputy editor Diane Davies told HTFP: “HeartSafe is an ambitious campaign but we know the people of Wolverhampton will get behind it. Big names like Noddy Holder have already lent their support.

“As our other campaigns such as Ladder for the Black Country and Ladder for Staffordshire have shown, we are keen to make a difference within our communities. This is a worthwhile cause the could literally save lives.”