People are being given the chance to learn how to help someone in cardiac arrest.

Volunteers up and down the country from St John’s Ambulance will be providing demonstrations that include practical information on how to deliver Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and deliver shocks to the heart with a defibrillator.

It is part of the health charity’s Restart A Heart campaign, with sessions in Enfield kicking off tomorrow at St John Ambulance Training Centre.

Currently, less than one in 10 people1 in the UK survives a cardiac arrest out of hospital, but the free sessions are aimed to give people the knowledge to perform such procedures in an emergency.

St John Ambulance says this will double the chance of someone surviving after a cardiac arrest.

Sally Bartlett, head of volunteering for London and South, said: “It is vital that as many people as possible learn how to deliver CPR and use a defibrillator because of the unpredictable nature of cardiac arrests.

“By ensuring more people have these skills and are not afraid to use them if they find someone who has collapsed and is not breathing, we can hopefully increase the number of people ready to step forward and intervene.

“In the space of only an hour you can pick up these skills from us for free so please make it a priority to find a Restart A Heart demonstration near to you.”

Local volunteers will be providing demonstrations at the St John Ambulance Training Centre, Shirley Road, Enfield, on October 9 from 8.30pm until 9.30pm and October 21 from 8.30pm until 9.30pm.