Boy, 5, saves unconscious mum's life by calling number on toy ambulance

Josh was given a tour of his local police station
West Mercia Police
Ewan Somerville26 August 2020

A five-year-old boy has been praised by police for saving his mum’s life by calling the emergency number on his toy ambulance.

Josh, from Telford in Shropshire, called 112 - the European emergency number similar to 999 - which connected him to a police operator.

He had spotted the number on the side of his toy ambulance after his mum slipped into a diabetic coma.

West Mercia Police officers found the boy and his younger brother in the house and their mother lying unconscious on the floor.

Thanks to Josh’s call alerting officers in time, paramedics were able to treat his mum. A diabetic coma can be life-threatening and is caused by very low or very high blood glucose levels.

Telford local policing commander, Superintendent Jim Baker, said: “This was an incredible thing for Josh to do, his quick thinking saw him ring the number on his toy ambulance as he was worried about his mum.

“He was very brave and stayed on the line while we were able to get to the family’s home and make sure his mum got medical assistance.”

Josh was later invited for a tour of his local police station.

Mr Baker added: “Josh has already proved he would make a brilliant police officer in the future, hopefully we’ll see him again when he’s old enough as a new recruit!”