British actors David Walliams, Johnny Vegas, David Mitchell and Sir John Hurt have lent their voices to a new video campaign offering tips on how to save a choking baby.

The light-hearted clip has Peep Show's Mitchell playing a chewed-up pen lid, while Britain's Got Talent judge Walliams voices a princess doll.

Comic Johnny Vegas plays a jelly baby in the video and exclaims: "I'm a baby that chokes babies - such a tragic irony."

And Oscar-nominated Hurt offers a cameo as a coughed-up peanut.

The advert, named The Chokeables, comes from St John Ambulance, which said three-quarters of parents in the East of England don’t know the correct technique for saving their baby from choking.

Parents are told some simple tips for how to act if their child is choking, starting with laying the baby face down and supporting their head, before placing up to five blows between their shoulder blades.

If that doesn't work, turn the baby over and give up to five thrusts in the chest, using two fingers. Finally, check the mouth and if the obstruction still hasn't cleared, call for an ambulance.

Paul Knighton, St John Ambulance's East of England regional training and community projects manager, said: "Knowing what to do in an emergency can be the difference between life and death, especially with something like choking.

"We all know how time-pressed parents are, so this film makes it as easy as possible to learn first aid – in less than 40 seconds we can all know a skill that could save a life.

"Our hope is that people in the East of England watch, enjoy and share the video with their friends and family, so more of us have the confidence to act in an emergency."