CHURCHSTOW residents are invited to learn life-saving CPR techniques to go along with their new community defibrillator.

A Heartstart session, run by Rotary Club of Kingsbridge Estuary and the British Heart Foundation, will take place at the Church Hall at St Mary’s Church in the village on Thursday, June 16, from 7pm.

On the Rotary Clubs’ website they say: ‘Over 1.4 million people have been trained nationally through the Heartstart UK initiative and this club alone has trained over 500.

‘Heartstart provides opportunities for people to learn the vital skills of Emergency Life Support. Through Heartstart UK the BHF aims to strengthen the chain of survival by promoting and supporting ELS training in the community.

‘The benefit of CPR performed by a bystander in an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is significant.

‘The most important factor determining survival after a cardiac arrest is the time from collapse of the casualty to defibrillation - performing CPR buys time and more than doubles the chances of survival.

‘We are lucky to have as a member of our team the President of the Resuscitation Council UK, Dr Carl Gwinutt, and can demonstrate the use of public access Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in which many local communities are investing.’

If you would like to attend, email Churchstow Parish Clerk Jody Fendick on [email protected] and she will get back to you.