LIFE-saving skills are being taught to Ribble Valley residents and businesses by a special team.

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) has teamed up with the British Heart Foundation to train volunteers how to use defibrillators, which give an electric shock to help restart somebody’s heart in the event of a cardiac arrest.

The NWAS community resuscitation team is made up of ambulance technicians, paramedics, nurses and other healthcare professionals, who will give the classes.

According to the Resuscitation Council, when someone has a cardiac arrest, defibrillation must be fast, as for every minute that passes, chances of survival decrease by about 10 per cent.

There are also classes available in heartstart training, which teaches people to assess an unconscious patient, how to perform CPR, how to deal with choking, serious bleeding and helping someone that may be having a heart attack.

The team is also responsible for training more than 1,600 community first responder volunteers, who are sent to certain emergencies by the ambulance service and are often the first on the scene to provide essential treatment.

Mark Evans, from Clitheroe, has been working with the NWAS for the past 14 years and is part of the team that will be teaching people life-saving skills.

He said: “It is absolutely vital – the more volunteers we have, the better.

“They are not there to replace the ambulance service but to work with them.

“I would absolutely encourage people to come along to the free course – they could go on to save somebody’s life.”

Community engagement manager Andy Redgrave said: “Through training and placing defibrillators in communities, we are increasing the likelihood that there will be someone with the confidence and skills to act quickly when the most extreme emergency strikes.”

For details on the training, contact the team on 0845 0021 999 or visit www.nwas-responders.info