HOW many people have said they wished they could have done something when faced with a crisis?

A loved one is suddenly struck down with a heart attack, an elderly lady collapses on the pavement in front of you, or you are a witness to an horrific car accident. Every day people die from heart attacks, from choking or through bleeding and yet many of us could do something to reduce this death toll and save someone's life.

This is where groups like Droitwich Heartstart come in. Since it was founded in 1998 it has provided free emergency life support (ELS) training to hundreds of people. Droitwich Heartstart is affiliated to Heartstart UK, a British Heart Foundation initiative and there are now more than 700 such schemes across the UK.

However, the life-saving organisation is still keen to find more trainers. The increased demand is caused by more and more people wanting to take part in day-time training sessions.

Co-ordinator Brian Harvey is spearheading the campaign to find more trainers and talks of how he became involved with the Spa organisation five years ago.

"It all started when I came back from a weekend walking trip to Snowdonia. I returned home and about two in the morning I started to experience chest pains. My wife called the ambulance, which arrived straight away, and I was diagnosed with signs of angina.

"This really made me take a hard look at my life and I adopted a healthier lifestyle, going swimming every day, joining a gym and losing some weight. It was just under 12 months ago that I saw an article in the Droitwich Advertiser about Heartstart UK and they were looking for a co-ordinator and someone to deal with the publicity side.

"I decided to become involved after my own experience to give something back to the system," he added. Brian was lucky but if his condition had been more serious those vital moments before the ambulance arrived could have proved a matter of life or death.

If a patient receives correct ELS during the crucial minutes before an ambulance gets there their chances of survival are significantly improved.

The Droitwich branch recently picked up a bronze award from the British Heart Foundation for its outstanding service. The members are dedicated to training ordinary people with a few basic skills to buy time and finding more trainers to pass these skills along is crucial to the organisation's existence.

Residents who take part in the course learn what to do in a wide range of emergencies and how to save someone's life. You do not need to have any previous medical experience.

Brian, of South Park Drive, added: "You will help others to provide the confidence needed to tackle emergency situations, rather than helplessly look on. Heartstart provides the basic skills needed to buy time until the ambulance arrives."

Heartstart can either visit your organisation or attend a training session, usually held at the health centre in Ombersley Street East for training.

For further details call local chairman Mark Oswell on 07973 152275 or Brian Harvey on 07973 623897.