BOLTON’s only youth-led charity is offering young people free life-saving training in the wake of Manchester Arena attack.

Emergency first-aid and defibrillator training is available to anyone aged between 14 and 21.

Five of the charity young volunteers were at the Ariana Grande concert targeted by a suicide bomber last Monday night. The attack sparked a determination to respond to the tragedy in a constructive way.

CEO Saeed Atcha, said: “We think it’s very important that we are able to give young people the opportunity to have life-saving skills because in a situation like we are in at the moment everyone is feeling helpless.

“If more people had these skills they may have been able to help on the night or in other situations. I was deeply saddened and shocked at the news and to find out that members of my team were among the concert-goers.”

And Mr Atcha, also paid tribute to the ‘fantastic community spirit’ he has seen across Greater Manchester.

He said: “We’ve seen fantastic community spirit across Greater Manchester. I visited Bolton to lay some flowers and then to Manchester to pay tribute and it’s quite clear that there is more that unites us than divides us and we truly stand together, with Manchester.”

Lydia German, a volunteer at Xplode said the training would equip other young people with vital skills.

She said: “If I was at the Arena on Monday, I wouldn’t have even known what to do – I still feel helpless. Everybody should have basic first-aid skills to start with. I think this is important because you never know when you might it – it might not be at such a tragic event, it might even come in use at home.

“If I could save somebody’s life in those crucial few minutes, it would just be amazing.”

The free training will be available to all young people in Bolton aged between 14 and 21. It will take place in locations across Greater Manchester.

Further details will be posted at xplodemag.co.uk or email Mr Atcha at saeed@xplodemag.co.uk