A GRANDFATHER from Fairlie who had a heart attack on a train has demanded a defibrillator for Largs Railway Station.

ScotRail Alliance announced plans last week to put lifesaving devices in over 30 stations across the country but Largs missed out.

David Telford, who survived his heart attack, hopes to persuade rail bosses to have a rethink.

He said: "Defibrillators don't cost much these days in the great scheme of things.

"Statistically if you have a cardiac arrest outwith hospital, you have a 10 per cent chance of surviving it. I was one of the lucky ones.

"A defib would not cost a lot of money - and these precious minutes can mean the difference between being alive and dead."

"These things save lives and every second counts.

"I took ill shortly after leaving Glasgow Central.

"I was fortunate as there was an off duty nurse and a dental student on the train who were able to give me CPR before the train got to Paisley Gilmour Street where an ambulance got me."

Mr Telford, who lives in Highfield Terrace, is now fighting fit after a heart bypass operation, and is a regular at the Vikingar! gym in Largs.

A spokesman for the ScotRail Alliance says they work closely with the ambulance service to deal with emergencies and that decisions on defibrillators were reached using a number of factors - including availability of other defibrillators nearby, the number of people passing through the station, the proximity of the station to an A&E unit, and how easily accessible the location is.

The spokesman added: “Our priority is always delivering the best service for our customers, which includes getting help quickly for anyone who has taken ill.

“We listen to customer feedback to improve our customer service, and a new partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Service is just one of several we have in place as we work towards delivering the best railway that Scotland has ever had.”

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Our priority is delivering the highest possible level of patient-centred care, and that is why we are working in partnership with ScotRail to improve the process for managing incidents where patients become unwell on trains.”