Birmingham City academy players have learned some life saving skills with the West Midlands Ambulance Service.

Ambulance staff gave up their free time to teach CPR to the 16 and 17-year-old players.

The need for basic life support was highlighted by the cardiac arrests of professional footballers Tom Lockyer, Juan Izquierdo, and Fabrice Muamba.

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The ambulance staff used resources from the international Restart a Heart Day to explain the effects of cardiac arrest on the body and the importance of quickly recognising and performing high-quality CPR.

The participants practised their newly acquired skills on manikins and used the Lifesaver app to respond to a simulated real-life scenario.

Bromsgrove paramedic, Andrea Couzens, was one of the WMAS training team members.

She said: "This is the third year we’ve visited BCFC Academy to put on life-saving training and it was great to hear feedback this year was once again overwhelmingly positive.

"Staff and players were once more grateful for the opportunity to learn how to identify and react to a cardiac arrest; a skill that will undoubtedly be useful both on and off the pitch."

The life-saving skills training forms a part of the academy players' personal development activities, which runs alongside their full-time training programme.

This initiative aims to prepare the youngsters for challenges both on and off the pitch.