A national campaign is aiming to train half a million people on how to carry out life-saving CPR.

Save a Life for Scotland aims to increase survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, which is currently just one in 10, and save an additional 1,000 lives over the next five years.

The campaign was launched on Restart a Heart Day at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, with representatives from Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the Scottish Ambulance Service, British Heart Foundation and Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland among those in attendance.

It aims to encourage the public to learn the basic skills of CPR, and when to use them.

Public Health Minister Maureen Watt also attended the launch, and said: "When a person goes into cardiac arrest it means their heart has stopped completely. The only chance of saving their life is to restart the heart as soon as possible. If they aren't in hospital the chance of a medical professional being close at hand is slim.

"That is why it's so important that members of the public know how to do CPR and are confident enough to try it.

"The Scottish Government fully backs Save a Life for Scotland. Training an extra 500,000 people in this life-saving skill could save thousands of lives over the next few years.

"CPR is one of the most valuable skills anyone can have. There are many opportunities to learn, just visit savealife.scot or the Facebook page for more details."

The campaign also has the support of East Lothian father-of-two Gregor Newton, 45, who received CPR from his wife after unexpectedly collapsing at home in April last year.

Mr Newton said of his episode: "It was totally out of the blue. I was fit with no health issues and no health concerns and never expected I would have a cardiac arrest.

"My son Harry found me on the floor and immediately called for his mum Judy, who was able to start CPR.

"She continued with other bystanders until a local community first responder made it to the scene and took over, using a defibrillator to shock my heart back into rhythm.

"I'm very lucky to still be here and now know how crucial it was to have this early intervention."