Prisoners across the central belt will be able to learn first aid skills from this month and gain an accredited qualification.

It follows a 12 month pilot project, which ran in HMP Low Moss in East Dunbartonshire and Barlinnie in Glasgow, delivered by St Andrew’s First Aid, in collaboration with the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and Fife College.

An additional £7000 funding has been secured from National Lottery Awards for All to roll the project out to other prisons.

The scheme ‘Restart – First Aid in Prisons’ saw more than 100 prisoners undertake first aid training.

It was trialled after several of them expressed an interest in learning a life skill that would add to their own personal development and be beneficial.

The qualification is a recognised accreditation.