A £5 MILLION scheme to make Lancashire the "safest place in the world to have a heart attack" has been launched.

The Lancashire Ambulance Service has launched the Heart of Lancashire Appeal, which aims to train 300,000 people in life support techniques and place specialist equipment and rapid response vehicles at locations throughout the county.

The launch of the programme, one of the biggest of its type in the world, took place at the home of Lord Shuttleworth, the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire.

"Every week, 50 people in Lancashire suffer from sudden heart attacks. In many cases, they die because trained life-savers with the right equipment are not at hand in those vital first few minutes," said David Hill, chief executive of the Lancashire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

"We aim to make Lancashire the safest place in the world to have a heart attack and want to train thousands of people across the county to help someone who has suffered a heart attack," he added.

Lord Shuttleworth, who is to be the appeal's honorary president, said : "It would be great when we look back if the appeal had really made a difference to the lives of Lancashire people."

Anyone interested in becoming involved, either by making a donation or volunteering for training, should the appeal on 01772 773144.

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