Emotive TV advert shown to encourage first aid training

A still from the new advertisement Credit: St John Ambulance/PA Wire

St John Ambulance has launched an emotive new TV advertisement in a bid to shock more people into doing first aid training.

The new advertisement shows a man being diagnosed with cancer, going through chemotherapy and coming out the other side, only to die choking on a burger at his celebration barbeque.

It launched in one of the most expensive advertising slots on TV - during the first episode of the new ITV1 series of Downton Abbey.

ITV News reporter Sejal Karia reports:

The campaign highlights the fact that as many people die in situations where first aid could have saved them as from cancer each year.

A spokesman for St John Ambulance said it was important to be "aggressive" in the way it promotes first aid in order to "make an impact as quickly as possible".

The charity hopes the campaign will encourage Britons to learn basic first aid skills. You can find out more about the advice and training on offer here.

Here is the advertisement in full: