HUNDREDS more Scottish pupils will be taught heart resuscitation skills after another local authority pledged to roll-out training.

Renfrewshire Council has become the fifth council to back our Scotland’s Got Heart campaign, which aims to ensure every secondary pupil in the country leaves a life-saver.

Glasgow was the first local authority in the UK to commit to a comprehensive training programme, helped by British Heart Foundation Scotland and were closely followed by Aberdeen, Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire.

Only one in 20 people in Scotland will survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest - the lowest figure in the UK and Glasgow has the highest rate.

David McColgan, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager for British Heart Foundation Scotland, said: “This announcement by Renfrewshire Council is very welcome.

“It is great to see council’s across Scotland take a stand and embrace the challenge of improving survival rates from out of hospital cardiac arrest in Scotland.”

Renfrewshire North & West MSP Derek Mackay, who earlier this year contact Renfrewshire Council to give his backing to the campaign, welcomed the move:

“This is fantastic news for Renfrewshire, and great credit must go to everyone who have campaigned to make this happen.

“The response to the campaign was huge, with many families and those who already give their time to give CPR training getting behind it and showing their support.

“Following our meeting with local school girl Amy Holding, I am delighted Education Convener Cllr Jim Paterson has taken this forward and managed to secure victory for the campaign.

“Teaching this skill to secondary pupils will help save lives. Even if one life is saved, it will have been worth it.”