«Little Hero». Boy saved himself and his mother, who lost consciousness behind the wheel on the highway

Nicola Crump from Ebbw Vale was driving on the A40 highway with her son Zac when she suddenly felt unwell and fainted.

Zac, who was in the passenger seat, managed to grab the steering wheel and steer the car onto the central reservation.

"All I remember is waking up on the other side of the road, not understanding what had happened," Nicola said.

On Saturday, Nicola was heading to a Christmas market in Birmingham and says that Zac asked to go with her at the last minute after her friend had to cancel due to illness.

"We got to Ross-on-Wye when I started to feel very hot," she told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, adding that she pulled off the road and put on her hazard lights.

"We were in a very dangerous place because there was no hard shoulder," Nicola said.

When she lost consciousness, her foot pressed the accelerator, the car accelerated to nearly 100 km/h and continued moving on the two-lane road. Zac said he tried to rouse his mother, but realizing it wasn't working, decided to take control.

He slowed the car down on a grassy strip alongside the road, then stopped the car, turned off the engine, and called the emergency services.

"I was very scared, but I knew I had to do something," the boy said.

"When I was on the phone to 999, I saw her stomach moving, so I knew she was breathing," Zac added.

"He kept calming me down. He was saying: 'It's okay, Mum, don't panic, you're fine'," Nicola added.

Police and paramedics soon arrived at the scene. Nicola was examined on site and later told that she had very low blood pressure.

Neither Nicola nor Zac sustained injuries, and although the car was damaged, it will be repairable.

They waited for relatives with the paramedics, then went into a nearby cafe where Zac received a free drink from staff who heard about his bravery.

Nicola said it's very unusual for her to lose consciousness, and she will undergo further examinations before driving again.

According to her, the police were impressed by how calm Zac remained after listening to the recording of the 999 call.

She said they invited Zac to their station in Worcester to present him with a certificate for his bravery.

Nicola called her son her "little hero", noting that his calm reaction and quick thinking prevented their ill-fated Christmas trip from ending in a much more serious accident.

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