THE SNP has backed mandatory CPR lessons at schools in a major boost for our Scotland’s Got Heart campaign.

The party backed a motion calling on schools to teach all pupils the life-saving skill, in a move that could see the majority of Scottish councils commit to training.

Earlier this year, Glasgow became the first council in the UK to pledge to roll-out CPR training, following pressure from the Evening Times and British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland.

Since then, another eight local authorities have pledged to do the same, helped by the charity, which supplies training kits free of charge.

The BHF say the party's support could lead to ten more SNP-led councils commiting to the policy.

The motion, proposed by SNP delegate Alexander Anderson at yesterday's party confernce, warned that Scotland lags behind other countries in cardiac arrest survival rates and said rates could be improved by mandatory training, led by a qualified teacher.

He said: “Cardiac arrest are the most common life-threatening emergency. Your chance of survival decrease by 10 per cent for every minute you don’t get CPR.

“Where training is provided in schools there is a positive impact on survival rates.

“There is a greater chance of survival because there are more people able to treat you.”

David McColgan, Public Affairs manager of British Heart Foundation, said: “The SNP is the first party to have a resolution like this and adopt it as party policy.

“It means potentially another 10 local authorities, that are led by the SNP, who have not signed up could adopt the policy to add to the ten who have already committed.

“It is a great endorsement for us and for the Evening Times’ Scotland’s Got Heart Campaign.

“It will help our efforts to engage with local authorities now the SNP conference has passed this.”

The Evening Times launched the Scotland’s Got Heart Campaign to help tackle the high rate of cardiac arrest deaths in the city.

People in Glasgow are more likely to die from a cardiac arrest than anywhere else in the UK and are also less likely to get the first aid that could save their life.