COLLEGE students have enlisted the help of teachers, parents and guardians to take on the roll of guinea pigs as part of a Hearty Lives Younger and Wiser initiative.

Staff from Lloyd’s pharmacies in Hartlepool called into Catcote School Business Enterprise College to carry out healthy heart checks, including performing blood pressure, weight and diabetes tests on the adults.

They will return six weeks later to carry out new tests and provide an update on how the new regimes are working.

Teacher Angela Chapman, herself one the guinea pigs, said: “The school is very much involved with the British Heart Foundation, NHS Hartlepool and Hartlepool Borough Council and in the Younger and Wiser campaign which is running for the next three years.

“The aim is to get the younger generation to appreciate what makes healthy lifestyles and habits and to pass that on to their parents and grandparents.

“We hope it will really help to get the message across by focusing on people they know and see every day.”

Lloyd’s regional manager Adam Crampsie (CORR) said: “We are providing this healthy heart service in our pharmacies to the public as part of a national initiative. By coming into school and involving teachers, carers and parents we can really show the students how important it is to maintain a healthy heart.”