IT may have been a few years since they picked up a skipping rope in the playground but that didn't stop 12 teachers from showing off their skills.The British Heart Foundation ran a free skipping workshop last night for teachers in the Ipswich, Woodbridge, Stowmarket and Felixstowe areas.

IT may have been a few years since they picked up a skipping rope in the playground but that didn't stop 12 teachers from showing off their skills.

The British Heart Foundation ran a free skipping workshop last night for teachers in the Ipswich, Woodbridge, Stowmarket and Felixstowe areas.

Held at Ipswich's Holywells High School after school hours, it aimed to demonstrate the health benefits of skipping and a number of different techniques.

The teachers were given tips on how to introduce skipping to the school gym or playground as well as an information pack to make it easier to teach skipping.

It comes as the heart charity promotes skipping as an ideal exercise for children alongside healthy eating - for physical inactivity doubles the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Brenda Clabburn, the charity's community fundraising manager, said: “We provide skipping ropes, music and teaching ideas but it helps the teachers if they can learn to skip themselves. It's very good physical exercise.

“We started off with some basic skipping, like hopping on one foot. The simple skipping skills help the teachers when they are showing young children, such as five-year-olds, how to skip and jump.

“It's really good fun but it's not easy if you haven't skipped for a while and today's skipping ropes are a lot faster than what they used to be.”