SCHOOLS and businesses across Colchester have been trained up to save lives as part of a national campaign.

Restart a Heart Day is an annual initiative which aims to train as many people as possible in CPR in one day.

Colchester Sixth Form College and The Oaks Hospital were among those taking part in the day.

The college welcomed first aider Christine Cheetham and her team.

Drop-in sessions were held for all staff and students before college and during the student lunch period.

About 150 PE students also had the opportunity to take part during their normal lessons and raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

The Oaks Hospital also invited schoolchildren to come along and learn life-saving skills.

The hospital’s aim was to teach 150 people on the day.

Nick Ratcliffe, operations manager at the hospital in Mile End, said everyone involved with leave with basic knowledge of resuscitation.

He said: “We wanted to raise some funds as part of our Voice of The Oaks committee.

“Some of the staff are wearing red too, it’s an important charity.

“We hoped to train 150 people up in basic life support and we had schools and businesses in and members of the public.”

The hospital is raising money on the day for the Hand on Heart charity and are aiming to get £1,000 so they can buy a defibrillator for Myland Community Primary School in Colchester.

Mr Ratcliffe said: “If you are in the right place at the right time you may have the opportunity to save someone’s life.

“It’s worth the hour of training to be able to get stuck in. It’s a great message.”

Staff in house taught both adult and paediatric training using resuscitation dolls.

They also held a raffle, with themed cup cakes, biscuits, heart sweets and wristbands for sale.

The Resuscitation Council along with the British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, and St John Ambulance are also working together to help train as many school children as possible.