A five-year-old boy has been hailed a hero after helping save his diabetic mum's life when she collapsed in the street.

Medics praised Nathan Anstice's coolness under pressure and his ability to pass on vital information about his mother Mandy's medical condition.

The drama began as Mrs Anstice and her son - who spent the first two months of his own life in the special care baby unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary after being born ten weeks premature and weighing just 3lb 3oz - walked home from Shipley's Wycliffe Church of England Primary School, where he is a pupil.

Mrs Anstice, 35, of Bradford Road, Shipley, praised Nathan and declared: "What he did could well have saved my life.

"If I had been left for any length of time it could have been very serious.

"We were on St Paul's Road when I had a diabetic hypoglycemic attack, which is when your blood sugar level drops.

"I can't even remember what happened but apparently I fell backwards over a wall, down a bank and started to almost fit.

"A couple of young men, who I'd like to thank, stopped in a car and phoned for an ambulance when Nathan told them what had happened and that I was diabetic.

"When the ambulance arrived Nathan told the crew straight away that Mummy was diabetic so they immediately knew what they were dealing with. It was important they did because they were then able to give me an injection straight away to get my sugar back up and bring me out of it.

"Instead of having to calm down a screaming child they treated me immediately which probably made the difference between me being able to go home after five hours and staying in hospital for a few days."

In the ambulance Nathan told the paramedics his mum's name, address and phone number and when they arrived at hospital he instantly told the doctor exactly what had happened.

West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service technician Gwen Clough, who attended the scene with paramedic Paul Mayo, said the information Nathan gave was vital.

"He stayed very calm and took it all in his stride - he was wonderful and we couldn't believe he was only five years old," she said.

"His mother couldn't give us any information but he was able to tell us everything we needed to know, such as what sort of medication his mum was on and when she took it, in a very grown up way.''

And Nathan's mum added: "Everyone was amazed at how someone of that age could remain so cool, calm and collected and be able to pass on every detail they needed to know at a time when you'd expect them to just be really upset," Mrs Anstice added.

"We're really proud of what he did - I keep telling him he's my little hero and an absolute star but he's very modest about the whole thing."

Mrs Anstice said Nathan's sharpness was even more remarkable given his traumatic start to life, adding: "We can't believe how he's developed and caught up when he was so tiny.

"We were worried he might be a bit behind but he's been tested and they say he's up to the age of a seven-year-old.''