Pontfaen Young Farmers Club is inviting people from across the local community to a free evening of practical emergency skills at Merthyr Cynog Hall.

The “Would You Know What To Do?” Emergency Skills Evening will take place on Monday, October 5, from 7pm to 9pm at the hall in Upper Chapel.

The event has been organised by Pontfaen YFC to give members of the farming and wider community the opportunity to learn practical skills from local emergency professionals.

The evening will cover a range of situations, including CPR, what to do while waiting for help, calling 999, farm accidents and road traffic accidents.

There will also be advice on how to respond safely and confidently when an emergency happens.

Contributors will include Brecon Mountain Rescue’s Jeff Evans, paramedic James Norbury and paediatric nurse Sian Healey, with a police representative also attending.

Pontfaen YFC is particularly encouraging farmers to attend, recognising that accidents can happen suddenly on farms and that knowing what to do in the first few minutes can be important.

Members of the club will also be available during the evening to help farmers and other members of the community download and set up RABI’s new free FarmersAid app on their smartphones.

FarmersAid has been developed by the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution to provide step-by-step guidance following a serious on-farm accident. The app covers 10 common serious farm emergencies and can help users contact the emergency services and pinpoint their location. RABI says the app is not intended to replace calling 999 or professional medical care, but can provide practical guidance while help is on its way.

Club chair Sian Healey said the event was intended to be “genuinely useful” to members and the wider community.

“Emergencies can happen anywhere – on a farm, on the road, at home or while out in the community – and it is easy to panic when something happens unexpectedly,” she said.

“Having some basic knowledge and knowing what to do can give people the confidence to act.”

She said the club was particularly pleased to help people get FarmersAid onto their phones.

“It is a free resource specifically designed with farming emergencies in mind, and we hope that lots of local farmers will take the opportunity to download it and familiarise themselves with it before they ever need it,” she said.

The evening is free and open to everyone, whether they have a farming background or not.