Learn how to save a life this Saturday!

 Leading first aid charity St John Ambulance will be teaching people in Bristol vital first aid skills on Saturday as part of its annual Save a Life September campaign.

It is the second year the charity has run the campaign. In 2011, the scheme was hugely successful and more than 70,000 people received free first aid guides as part of the campaign.

This year the charity aims to reach even more people to equip them with life saving first aid skills.

St John Ambulance volunteers will be giving free demonstrations at the Galleries Shopping Centre on Saturday 22 September between 9am and 5pm.

People will be able to learn how to save a life using five easy to follow techniques and will receive a free pocket-sized first aid guide to carry in case of emergency.

Research carried out by St John Ambulance before the campaign showed that up to 140,000 people die every year in situations where first aid could have given them the chance to live. This includes nearly 900 people who choke to death, 2,500 who asphyxiate from a blocked airway and 29,000 who die from heart attacks. 

In addition, the charity found that fewer than one in five people (18%) know basic first aid.

Naomi Chillingworth, from Avon St John Ambulance, said: ‘Learning first aid is one of the single most important things you can do in your life. You never know when you may need it – at work, at home, in school, playing sport – and what could be more important than saving someone’s life?

‘By holding first aid demonstrations across the country as part of Save a Life September, we want to reach as many people as possible so that more people are equipped with the skills to save a life. Anyone who needs first aid should get it and armed with this knowledge we can all be the difference between a life lost and a life saved.’

To find out more about events in your area, visit www.sja.org.uk/sals or call 0117 953 3880.