BUSINESSES in Worcestershire and Herefordshire last year trained 56 people a week in vital first aid skills with the support of a life-saving charity.

St John Ambulance, which raises funds for its charity work by providing commercial workplace first aid courses, trained 2,920 people over the course of a year – an increase of 14.5 per cent on the 2014 figure. Venues in Redditch, Hereford and Bromsgrove saw the greatest uplift in demand against the previous year.

John Cavanagh, Director of Workplace Training from St John Ambulance, said: "Our figures show that businesses and other organisations in Hereford and Worcestershire are committed to meeting their first aid responsibilities and ensuring the health and wellbeing of their staff and customers. "We hope the upward trend continues into 2016 and even more businesses step forward to train their staff this year.

"St John Ambulance provides quality training, and many of the people we teach on a workplace first aid course go on to use their skills to save lives at home or in their communities. First aid emergencies really can happen at any time, anywhere."