Brave four-year-old hero saves injured mum by making his first-ever phone call to raise alarm

Jacob Drysdale calmly called his grandparents and followed their advice while they rushed to his house to help motionless Jayne Drysdale.

Jayne, 30, was unable to reach her phone in their living room after tripping over the flex on her iron while walking downstairs.

Jacob, who had only previously used the mobile to play games, realised “mam” stood for his grandmother and called the number to ask for help.

After convincing them that he wasn’t joking, he placed a pillow under his own mother’s head, covered her in a blanket and dried her tears until his grandparents quickly arrived.

Jayne, a sales assistant at Cooplands Bakers, in Peterlee, is now on crutches after spending five days in hospital while recovering from a bruised back.

She said: “I am just so proud of him. I could not believe how calm he was.

“He knows how to get on the games but I have never known him make a call.

“He put my mam on loudspeaker and I heard her saying ‘is it a joke?’ and he said ‘no, you need to come, she has hurt herself’.

“If he had not got through then who knows what condition I would have been in?

“No-one was due to contact us for another two hours and I might have injured myself more trying to get to the phone.”

Jacob’s actions have already earned him a Young Heroes award courtesy of Peterlee Police Neighbourhood Team and a visit by officers to his school, Blackhall Primary School, in Middle Street, to present him with a certificate.

Headteacher Joanna Clark said: “He was just so sensible and we have used what he did as an example for the other children if they ever find themselves in the same position.”

His reception class teacher, Colette Maguire, added: “I was proud of him already because he is so mature. This just makes me even more proud of him.”

Jacob, who said he was “so worried” after his mam’s fall, let grandparents Melvin and Margaret Drysdale, who are 58 and 56 respectively, into his Blackhall home after they dialled 999 on December 7.

His aunt, Jill Drysdale, 34, from Peterlee, said: “He was so worried about her and said ‘do you remember people after you fall down the stairs?’ That was the first thing he said when she went to visit her in hospital. ‘Do you know who I am?’”

An additional reward is likely to come next week with a grateful Jayne saying: “I have already been on the phone to Santa to make sure he gets extra presents.”