A 15-year-old paperboy has been credited with saving an elderly customer’s life after spotting a pile of untouched deliveries outside her door.
Student Liam Apps, from Wigmore in Kent, was doing his job as usual on Thursday, when he spotted an unusual number of newspapers piled up outside the 89-year-old woman’s house.
“I counted how many there were, and it was Sunday’s up until Thursday,” Liam told the PA news agency.
“I didn’t really think anything of it, so I went to school and it was playing on my mind the whole day.
“When I got home I asked mum if we could go over there to ring the door and see if she’s alright.
“We didn’t get an answer, so we went to a neighbour two doors down who helped us go around the back.
“We shouted through the window ‘are you okay?’ and we didn’t have a response firstly, but then she shouted ‘I can’t get off the floor’.
“So that’s when I dialled 999 and called for an ambulance, and after that we had her permission to break the door down to get in. Everyone played a part in it.
“When we were inside, we saw that there was quite a lot of blood everywhere… we went over and asked if she was alright and got her secure.”
The woman is thought to have been stuck on the floor for several days before being rescued.
Liam said he does not have first aid training, but had been advised by his mother Katie Pollitt, a midwife, on what to do in an emergency.
The neighbour who helped them gain access to the house, meanwhile, was a paramedic.
“It was a really good team that we made, and all of us played a part in sorting the lady out and waiting for the ambulance,” said Ms Pollitt.
“I’m very, very proud. He’s really well behaved so I wasn’t surprised… I’m very proud.”
Liam said that the paramedic later informed him over the phone that the lady was “doing alright” and was in hospital.
When asked what advice he would give to anyone who found themselves in his situation, he said: “Definitely just check that everything is okay, because immediately I wasn’t going to, and now because of what happened I’m so glad I did.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to replace the woman’s door, with any surplus funds to go towards cleaning the blood from the carpets. It can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/fix-a-94yr-old-ladies-door-after-a-fall.
