The British Red Cross is to give its street fundraisers first aid training and equip them with defibrillators after its director of fundraising was called upon to help a member of the public while wearing a face-to-face waterproof.

Mark Astarita was faced with a man having a heart attack in the street. He said of the incident: "It was raining and I happened to be wearing a F2F waterproof and the crowd all looked to me to respond. As a direct result we have spent £30,000 so far and more to come on arming our guys on the busiest streets in the UK with the means to save a life."

A defibrillator will be given to each team. Fundraisers in London are already being trained and the programme is to be rolled out across the country in 2013.

Astarita said: “We are doing it to save lives, we see it as a public duty. Every day all over the UK our fundraisers are out on the streets meeting the public and unfortunately occasionally they may run into people who need help. We want to empower our fundraisers to be able to respond and potentially save lives.”

The training has already been put into practice by some fundraisers, including Lisa Kent who said: “I was out fundraising on the street in Sutton when I heard a bit of a commotion. A woman had collapsed and was having an epileptic fit on the pavement, there were lots of people around her but nobody knew what to do. I put her in the recovery position and phoned an ambulance and waited with until it arrived.”

Research, which was commissioned by the Red Cross, showed that 5 per cent of people visiting accident and emergency departments had been treated by a first-aider. The British Heart Foundation also estimates that 83,000 people die from a cardiac arrest each year. Automated external defibrillators can be used to shock the heart back into normal rhythm.

British Red Cross head of first aid Joe Mulligan said: “Putting more defibrillators onto the streets will save lives, quite simply. Most patients suffering cardiac arrests will be resuscitated within minutes using a defib so arming our street fundraisers with them, who will be working on some of the busiest streets in the country, can only be a good thing.”

The charity is also encouraging other employers to train more of their workers in first aid with the launch of an online debate and first aid challenge with a ‘try before you buy’ offer on its first aid courses.