RESIDENTS of a small Cornish village say they are terrified of losing their community defibrillator after its electricity bill rocketed from £230 to £1,000 a year.

The people of Trenewan, near Looe, first paid just £72 annually to power the device, but now face a staggering hike following a new bill from SSE Energy.

For a community of just 16 homes, the planned increase threatens to make keeping the lifesaving equipment running unaffordable – despite the device having already been used more than five times.

For resident Alison Talling, the issue is deeply personal. She campaigned for a defibrillator after her father Tony had a stroke in 2016 and was forced to wait for almost two hours for an ambulance.

“The importance of the defibrillator is massive,” she said. “Luckily dad survived, but I went home that night and thought I need to do something. From that, the whole community got together to buy the defibrillator, so we don’t want to lose it.”

Neighbour John Blundell called the price rise “shocking” and warned Trenewan was not alone in facing the crisis.

“We can’t afford over a thousand pounds a year. Potentially, this will affect hundreds of other villages across the country. How many defibrillators will be lost, I don’t know – but lives will be at risk.”

After months of lobbying by residents, SSE Energy have now responded, saying: “We would like to apologise for the quote that was given to our customer. We used a standard level of consumption that did not allow for the fact that this account is for a defibrillator.

“We recognise the vital role these play as community assets and we want to work with Mr Blundell to find the best solution.”

Mr Blundell added: “I’ve been trying for three months to get them [SSE] to see sense. It’s good they have offered to negotiate with us, but as yet we don’t know what they will offer.”