ALL pupils in England will be taught life-saving CPR skills under new proposals put foward by the UK government.

Draft legislation says primary school children will be taught basic first aid, such as dealing with head injuries and calling emergency services.

Secondary school children will learn life-saving skills such as CPR and the purpose of defibrillators.

The British Heart Foundation said the move would improve "shockingly low survival rates from cardiac arrests."

Read more: Evening Times campaign for mandatory CPR in schools gathering pace

The Evening Times is campaigning for a similar move north of the border and the announcement could put more pressure on the Scottish Government to act.

Glasgow City Council and Aberdeen have pledged to teach all secondary pupils CPR and British Heart Foundation Scotland is in talks with a further 10 local authorities.

Fewer than one in 10 people survive cardiac arrests suffered outside of hospital, with 10,000 people in the UK dying each year as a result.

Survival rates in countries that teach first aid in school are up to three times higher, the BHF said.

Read more: Glasgow becomes the first UK city to pledge to train all pupils in CPR 

The decision comes after Lord Kerslake's inquiry into the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017 found members of the public tried to help the injured and dying but lacked the requisite skills.

The report into the blast, which killed 22 people, praised the public response.

But the inquiry raised concerns that people on the scene were "trying their very best in genuinely harrowing circumstances" but "did not appear familiar with first aid principles".