PARENTS were shown how to administer first aid to help them handle emergencies as part of a life-saving campaign.

St John Ambulance, the first aid charity, ran a session on how to do child CPR at Creepy Crawlies on Wigginton Road with a public demonstration for about 50 people.

Owner of the children's attraction, Janice Dunphy, said the demonstration was important because it gave parents the confidence to act when a child’s life was in danger.

She said: “We had people who didn’t even have kids turning up just to find out how to save a person’s life.

“The feedback was great. People kept asking when St John would be available to do it again.”

All members of staff at the centre are first aid trained and Ms Dunphy said they had recently helped a man who had crashed his car after suffering an aneurysm.

The demonstration was held after a survey showed only a quarter of parents in Yorkshire and the Humber would know what to do if their baby stopped breathing.

Last year, St John Ambulance ran a campaign called The Chokeables, teaching parents how to save a child from choking, which it said led directly to 46 children’s lives saved.