Metrocentre shoppers offered free life-saving training
Basic life-saving training sessions are being offered to shoppers to increase the number of people who can do CPR.

The training is being offered by the British Army and the Great North Air Ambulance at Gateshead's Metrocentre.

Almost half the staff at the shopping centre have received training and they have already saved one life.

One paramedic said knowing how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation was "essential" to keep a heart attack patient alive.

Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) operations manager and paramedic Gordon Ingram said: "Basic life support is that, it is basic but if I could change one word I'd say essential because without essential life support happening, anything we do when we arrive at the scene of a patient who needs CPR would be pointless, so it's invaluable the public know how to do these simple things to save lives."

He added CPR can give a heart attack patient their best chance of survival, keeping them alive until emergency services arrive.

It is something that workers at the Metrocentre have already had experience of. When Alex Workman suffered a heart attack at work her life was saved by her first aid-trained colleague, Andy Tolson, and her manager Dave Dixon.

The demonstrations coincide with Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, and as well as being offered on a drop-in basis, group workshops for two to six people are also available to book.

Col Matt Palmer, from the 4th Infantry Brigade based at Catterick Garrison said: "We believe this training is incredibly important for the local community."