Manchester United’s Phil Neville has helped launch a lifesaving initiative created by Trafford Community Leisure Trust in partnership with the Premiership football club.

The new Baby Savers course is aimed at providing members of the community with the knowledge of what to do if a baby stops breathing, has no signs of life or is choking.

The trust already offers courses including water safety, lifesaving, health and safety at work and first aid at work, but this is the first it has set up from scratch.

The trust and Manchester United are offering the course free of charge.

Although the two organisations have worked together in the past, this is the first major partnership. A spokesperson for the leisure trust said that several Manchester United players would be completing the course themselves in the near future. Details: +44 (0)161 912 4807 or www.traffordleisure.co.uk