ST John Ambulance has launched its annual awareness month - Save a Life September – with the release of a comical new video starring Rufus Hound.

The Farnham-educated comedian and actor plays a hapless teacher, whose lack of first-aid skills leads to disastrous consequences for his pupils and demonstrates why everyone should learn a lesson for life.

Volunteers from the nation’s leading first aid charity are holding a series of free Save a Life events, all over the South East, demonstrating simple techniques that could help people be the difference between a life lost and a life saved.

One such event will be held in Farnham, at the St John Ambulance headquarters in The Hart, from 10am to 2pm on Saturday, September 26.

Rufus Hound, who studied at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design in Farnham before it became the University for the Creative Arts, said: “St John Ambulance is a tremendous organisation and working with them has been super fun.

“I’m delighted to be supporting Save a Life September. Although the campaign video is funny, the message behind it is serious: it’s never too late to learn how to save a life.

“Everyone should visit the St John Ambulance website, find their nearest free first aid demo and learn the skills that could one day rescue someone close to them.”

Now in its fifth year, Save a Life September teaches thousands of people life saving skills for free, through:

• Hundreds of first aid demonstrations at shopping centres, train stations, stadiums, town centres and more

• Distributing 100,000 free first aid guides so everyone can remember the key five ways to save a life

• A suite of online first aid videos

To find out how and where you can learn to save a life this September or to watch the video, visit www.sja.org.uk/savealife

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Beth Elger, St John Ambulance schools and community projects manager, said: “First aid is for everyone and it’s easy and fun to learn.

“We believe that everyone should have first-aid knowledge – and the more people that take part in Save a Life September, the higher the chance that someone will be on hand to help when it’s needed most.”

For more information on St John Ambulance’s work, including how to become a volunteer and details of training for the public, schools and businesses, visit the website www.sja.org.uk or call 0303 003 0101.