World's only underground CPR session held at Wakefield's National Coal Mining Museum

The session, which was held 140m underground at the National Coal Mining Museum in Overton on Wednesday, was attended by students from Wakefield Girls’ High School and Queen Elizabeth Grammar School.

The national campaign aims to teach schoolchildren how to save the life of a person in cardiac arrest.

Jason Carlyon, Yorkshire Ambulance Service Lead for Restart a Heart Day, said: “This year we will be teaching CPR to more students than ever before on Restart a Heart Day and it was only fitting that we accepted the international challenge of organising a life- saving lesson at an iconic location – where could be more Yorkshire than down pit?

“Our volunteers have been teaching in hundreds of classrooms at schools across Yorkshire today and it was great to visit somewhere a little unconventional.

“Cardiac arrests can happen anywhere and by performing CPR in the critical minutes before the ambulance arrives gives the patient the best possible chance of survival.”

The event took place as more than 800 YAS staff, volunteers and partners visit 165 secondary schools to teach CPR to around 40,000 students in just six hours to mark Restart a Heart Day.

Jenny Layfield, National Coal Mining Museum Director, said: “What a brilliant and unusual way to learn such an important life skill - if you can perform CPR 140m underground then you can do it anywhere. We are really pleased that today has gone so well.”