A LIFE-SAVING group from Malvern has been nominated again in the Worcestershire Education Awards.

Heartstart Malvern, which provides defibrillator training and campaigns to have the machines installed around the region, won the Community Involvement Award last year after working to train community groups and raise awareness of heart attack survival rates.

Richard Vakis-Lowe, a former paramedic who set up the group in 2017, said: "We are delighted to get a nomination this year after winning last year. It is a very nice surprise.

"It is going to be a very busy year for us as this summer we are training over 500 pupils at three schools in Malvern in just one month. That is incredible when you consider we normally train 1,000 people a year.

"So far we have managed to train up over 2,700 people since we have been going and have seen 18 defibrillators installed around the area.

"One of the things we are really keen on doing is taking the training into schools and what we need to do is marry-up the skill of CPR and using a defib with availability of machines.

"Across Europe the survival rate for heart-attacks is around 25 per cent, in Britain it currently stands at 10 per cent so we want to improve that as much as possible.

"One of the misconceptions people have is that they can do it incorrectly or use the machine incorrectly but that is not the case."

The nomination for Heartstart said: "With the NHS and ambulance service under so much pressure, it is groups like Heartstart Malvern and their training programme that will enable early intervention and save valuable lives as a result."

The deadline for nominations is April 18 and winners are announced at the University Arena on June 20.