Award for boy who steered car to safety at 60mph

A mother whose life was saved by her son's quick thinking after she collapsed at the wheel said she is "incredibly proud" after he won a national bravery award.

Thirteen-year-old Zac, from Ebbw Vale in Blaenau Gwent, received the Child of Courage award at the Pride of Britain Awards after steering his mum's car to safety while travelling at 60mph on the A40 in Herefordshire.

When Nicola fainted Zac grabbed the steering wheel, guiding the car into the central reservation before switching off the engine and calling 999.

Nicola, said: "I was proud of him anyway but what he did for me that day was just absolutely amazing. If he wasn't there that day I don't think I'd be here now."

She added: "That car would have just kept accelerating until I'd hit something, probably head on, and that's the reality of it."

Nicola had managed to slow the car and pull partly onto a narrow verge before losing consciousness.

But with the automatic gearbox still in drive and her foot on the accelerator, the vehicle began moving back onto the dual carriageway.

After guiding the car to safety, Zac used the car's sat-nav to give emergency services their location.

In the recording of the 999 call, Zac can be heard saying: "Basically I'm driving on a motorway and my mum just fainted so I had to crash the car to stop."

Nicola, who was unconscious for about seven minutes, was later found to have extremely low blood pressure and is awaiting further cardiology tests before returning to driving.

She said her son had been "screaming" her name as the car accelerated.

"When he realised I wasn't going to wake up he reached over and grabbed the steering wheel," she said.

"He literally saved our lives and who knows who else's lives. It's playing on me how scared he must have felt, but he's so humble. He thinks it was a normal thing to do."

Zac was presented with the award by footballer Jack Grealish.

Nicola said her son also met TV personalities Pete Wicks and Sam Thompson and received a surprise video message from the cast of The Inbetweeners, one of his favourite shows.

She said Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham had been the first person to tell Zac he had won when he attended an event at Wembley Stadium earlier this year.

"We were like, how are you going to top Jude Bellingham and then out comes Jack Grealish," she said.

"Zac was over the moon."

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