A Lydiate youngster saved the life of his mother after resuscitating her using skills he learned at his local scout group, his proud father has said this week.

Withens Road resident Martin Boylan told The Champion yesterday (March 2) that son Christopher performed CPR on his mother after she suffered cardiac arrest last month, and that thanks to learning the lifesaving skills at scout meetings she survived and is now making a strong recovery.

“I'm very proud of him and what he's done - the doctors and paramedics who treated my wife said that without his intervention, she would not have survived,” he said.

“Christopher is a very keen member of his local scout group and enjoys going along and taking part in all their activities. I cannot stress enough that if the local scout unit hadn't taught him CPR skills, it would without question have been a very different outcome.”

Fourteen-year-old Christopher, a member of the village's 5th Sefton (East) scout group, had his lifesaving skills put to the test when his mother suffered a cardiac arrest at around 11.20pm on the evening of February 20, and performed CPR, short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, in the minutes before paramedics from North West Ambulance arrived to take her to hospital.

Ian Anderson, group leader of 5th Sefton (East) Scouts, described him as a “great example of what scouting is all about.”

Christopher's mother is now being treated at Aintree University Hospital, where his family said she is making a strong recovery after suffering from cardiac arrest.

Pic shows: Chris and his sister Francesca at their Lydiate home

By David Simister