‘Without CPR training my husband wouldn’t be here’

Mrs Dodd said she was “one of the lucky ones”, because she had been first aid trained in her job as a primary school teacher.

“I never ever thought I’d have to use it, especially not on my husband,” she said.

“Performing CPR gives people the best chance for when the medical professionals do get there, and that is why we’re really really proud to be part of this campaign to promote people to learn CPR.”

According to The British Heart Foundation, external, more than 40,000 people a year have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the UK, and fewer than 10% survive.

But giving CPR promptly and using a defibrillator can more than double someone’s chance of survival.

Mr and Mrs Dodd are now encouraging others to become first aid trained – and raising awareness of The British Heart Foundation’s free, interactive, online CPR training course, RevivR, external.

Completing the course takes 15 minutes, and promises to teach participants how to recognise and react to a cardiac arrest.