A TEENAGE hero from York has been credited with saving the life of a young woman.

Hayden Davies, 16, of Haxby, rushed to the aid of a woman who was having an epileptic fit after seeing her collapse in the street in Northallerton. Although shoppers were walking past and ignoring Charlotte Bell, 20, Hayden remembered his Army cadet training.

He put her in the recovery position while ensuring that another passer-by called an ambulance.

Hayden, a pupil at Joseph Rowntree School, said: “I saw what had happened and I went over to her. I put my jumper under her head and I kept talking to her until the ambulance came.

“I feel quite excited to be called a hero, it’s a first. I would do it again.”

Hayden’s efforts to help Charlotte came just a week after he had called an ambulance after seeing a man collapse in Gillygate in York. His bravery has now been recognised with a certificate of thanks from North Yorkshire County Council.

Hayden, who lives with foster carers, has been named a fostering hero.

Bryan Kenealy, 48, who has fostered Hayden with his wife Amanda, 47, for three years, said he was not surprised to learn what had happened.

He said: “He has been a member of the Army Cadets in Strensall since he was 13.

“As far as Miss Bell is concerned Hayden saved her life.

“We are really proud of him. Young people do not get a good press and this give a more balanced point of view of what young people are like, especially looked after young people.

“We say to Hayden that doing something is better than doing nothing and I think he has remembered that.”

Steve Leahy, a manager at Fostering North Yorkshire, said Hayden’s prompt response to the emergency was a “perfect example” of how the service encourages carers and the children they look after to aim to be responsible citizens.