WHEN his mum slipped in the shower and hurt herself so badly she could not move, little Ryan Brown did all the right things - even though he is only four.

Now ambulance staff have praised the Wigginton youngster for keeping a cool head and raising the alarm.

Paula Brown, of Helmsley Grove, had landed awkwardly when she slipped and was unable to move.

Quick-thinking Ryan ran to get the phone so help could be summoned, and he also looked after his six-month-old sister, Kelly, until an ambulance crew arrived.

Mrs Brown said: "I slipped backwards and as I fell on the floor I hit my head on the bathroom scales. I couldn't move so I don't know what I would have done without Ryan - he is my little hero."

Ryan, who attends Wigginton Nursery, said: "I went downstairs to get the phone because I knew mummy needed help. I kept trying to turn the shower off but I couldn't reach."

When Haxby paramedic Paul Jackson and emergency medical technician Jim Harland arrived, they strapped Mrs Brown to a spinal board and fitted a neck brace before taking her to York Hospital.

The 34-year-old was discharged after X-rays, which revealed she had suffered severe bruising to her coccyx.

Mr Harland said: "For a child so young, he did brilliantly. He did exactly what he should have done and acted in a way which meant his mum's treatment was not delayed."

Meanwhile, ambulance staff won commendation from a patient who believes he would be dead if it hadn't been for their expertise.

Sydney Robson personally thanked one of the ambulance crew who saved his life after he suffered a heart attack.

Mr Robson, 75, of Hope Cottage, Oulston, near Easingwold, had returned from his local, the Fauconberg Arms, Coxwold, when he suffered the heart attack.

He said: "I was feeling unwell that night. The pain was terrible and I rang the doctor who then called an ambulance. I don't remember much after that.

"But I now know I owe my life to the ambulance crew. They must have done a grand job and I'm really grateful for everything they did."

Mr Robson was attended by Haxby-based emergency medical technicians Andy Walker and Mick Toon.

Andy said: "Sydney was slumped in an armchair. He was out-for-the-count, very pale and his lips were blue.

"There was no pulse and no breathing. We shocked him once, and he coughed and started breathing, then we found a pulse.

"Within a minute he was sitting up and asking what had happened.

"It was marvellous to 'get him back' and to see him now, looking so well and so cheerful.

"It gives you a real buzz - to know you've saved someone's life."

Updated: 09:50 Saturday, May 03, 2003