A new defibrillator and car park extension project are among £1million of grants approved by the Big Lottery Fund.

Payhembury Parish Council has been given £2,834 towards the installation of a life-saving machine near the village shop.

The funding will also enable trained volunteers to administer emergency first aid, potentially saving lives in this remote rural area.

Councillor Tim Cox, a retired GP of 30 years, who led the project, said: “We are five miles away from the nearest ambulance station and in summer that can be a big problem with summer traffic on the lanes when you have two to three minutes.

“It [the defibrillator] is going to make a big difference to having an undamaged person at the end of it.”

In Broadhembury, the parish council received a grant of £3,750 to put towards a car park extension at the community centre.

The centre opened in September 2015 after receiving substantial funding from the lottery fund with parking for up to 15 cars.

The council’s latest project is to increase the capacity to up to 50 cars to meet its lottery conditions to make the hall sustainable.

Edwina Bradshaw, vice-chairman of the parish council and community centre trustee, said the centre will welcome garden presenter Bob Flowerdew in March, but will not be able to cater for the number of people expected to attend the talk.

She added: “The new project will extend the car park to offer approximately 50 car spaces and will enable us to fulfil our lottery targets.

“We have to be sustainable - it’s a wonderful hall.”