Hollywood hardman fronts British Heart Foundation CPR campaign

UNTRAINED bystanders in Sidmouth should ‘give the kiss a miss’ if performing CPR, according to the British Heart Foundation (BFH).

Charity chiefs have urged residents to concentrate on giving just chest compressions to the tune of Bee Gees hit Stayin’ Alive

The health organisation has recruited Vinnie Jones to launch a nationwide campaign to actively promote Hands-only Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).

Bosses say anyone who doesn’t have CPR training should now ignore the kiss of life in favour of hard and fast compressions in the centre of the chest.

A poll by the BHF showed almost half of people in the South West were put off helping because of a lack of knowledge about CPR.

Nearly a fifth, 18per cent, worried specifically about the thought of the kiss of life or catching an infectious disease.

The survey also revealed nearly half of respondents in the region feared they’d be sued if they did something wrong, despite the fact there has never been a successful case of that kind in the UK.

Ellen Mason, senior cardiac nurse at the BHF, said: “The kiss of life can often be daunting for untrained bystanders who want to help when someone has collapsed with a cardiac arrest.

“It’s been shown that hard, fast and uninterrupted chest compressions are better than stopping compressions for ineffective rescue breaths.

“It’s very simple, call 999 and then push hard and fast in the centre of the chest at a tempo similar to Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees. If you’re untrained or unconfident about the kiss of life, give Hands-only CPR a go instead - it could help save someone’s life.”