Seven-year-old Adam Smith saved his grandfather’s life by staying calm in a crisis.
The little boy dialled 999 when his babysitter, grandad Bob Donkin collapsed.
Bob, a retired dockworker, was looking after Adam and his little sister Amy while their parents went out for a meal.
Adam’s mum Andrea told the Sunderland Echo, “Adam and Amy helped my Dad back into the sitting room and helped him get down on to the settee before Adam rang 999.
“I’m so immensely proud of Adam. You can’t put it into words. My dad wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t done what he did,” she added.
Mr Donkin is now recuperating at home after an operation at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital.
The North East ambulance said the young children coped remarkably well under pressure and they plan to present them with certficates of merit for their bravery.
A spokeswoman for the organisation said, “Given their ages, Adam and Amy did remarkably well to keep such cool heads.
“Being with someone who is suffering a suspected heart attack can be a very traumatic and distressing experience – so to have the presence of mind to make the 999 call, which probably saved their granddad’s life, is something that deserves public recognition.”
