PUPILS at a Hexham school have been taught how to save a life.

Children at St Joseph’s Middle were visited by members of the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) for two days of CPR workshops as part of the annual Restart at Heart Day.

The national campaign aimed to raise awareness of the importance of CPR, with more than a quarter of adults living in the North-East admitting they wouldn’t feel confident enough to perform CPR if they saw someone suffer a cardiac arrest.

All of the 300 pupils were shown how to perform the life-saving skill and heard how teenage lifeguard Rhianna Stoves saved her brother Sam’s life. Both were former pupils of the school.

Alex Mason, community development officer at NEAS, said: “The children have been fantastic and really enthusiastic. In the North-East, and across the UK, there are too few people who know CPR or know the signs of cardiac arrest. The reason we want children to do this is because they are like sponges and absorb things, and they will have that knowledge if they need it in the future. We are really keen to build this into their lessons.”