University students have completed a 24-hour CPR marathon for charity.

Paramedic students at the University of Worcester recently teamed up with staff members to perform continuous cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a manikin.

The marathon was organised by the university's paramedic society.

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The challenge raised funds for charities including Midlands Air Ambulance and Cardiac Risk in the Young, as well as contributed towards installing a defibrillator in a shop in the area.

Alongside raising money, the event sought to shed light on a gender imbalance within lifesaving actions.

Figures suggest that women are 28 per cent less likely to receive CPR from passers-by due to factors including embarrassment and inappropriate touching concerns.

Third year paramedic student Izzy Gamble, one of the event's organisers, shared her shock at these statistics.

She said: "When I first saw that statistic and heard that people are worried about exposing a chest, or taking a bra off, it really surprised me.

"I thought, ‘why is this such a problem?’"

She added: "It played on my mind. We have ‘Annie’ dolls which we use to train CPR, but why don’t they have breasts? Why are they male dolls? It got me thinking and I thought we’d try and get the word out at the CPR Marathon to let people know it’s ok to give CPR to women.

"You won’t get in trouble for it, let’s try and save as many lives as we can."

The marathon concluded at 9am on Friday (March 15), raising almost £1,000 in total for the chosen charities.

Reflecting on the fundraiser, Miss Gamble said: "I feel ecstatic that we’ve completed this challenge, and I’m so proud of the team for all the time, effort and hard work they’ve put into the project with me."

Despite the obvious physical challenges of the event, Miss Gamble said it was far from the biggest hurdle, saying: "The hardest part would have to be the organisation, the led up to it and making sure the event ran smoothly, which it did."

She concluded: "Without the team the event wouldn’t have happened and I’m grateful for them all for pushing through and helping to get this done."