RESIDENTS are being urged to sign a petition appealing for children to be taught life-saving skills at school.

The British Heart Foundation is calling on people to visit their charity shops to sign the petition, which asks the Government to make sure children are taught cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at school.

Debbie Boylen, north west regional manager of the British Heart Foundation, said: “Lives are lost every day because people do not have the skills to act in a life-threatening situation.

“We believe that every child should leave school knowing how to perform CPR.

"That’s why we need people to go into their local shop, sign the petition, and help create a nation of lifesavers.

“Children learn many lessons in school but what is more important than knowing how to save a life?”

British Heart Foundation figures show more than 30,000 people have a cardiac arrest outside of hospital but less than one in 10 survive – partly because people don’t have the skills or confidence to perform CPR. In parts of Norway, where children learn CPR in schools, up to 25 per cent of people survive a cardiac arrest.

The British Heart Foundation has shops in High Street, in Northwich, and in Fountain Court, in Winsford.