A quick-thinking York schoolboy who put his skills to use when a woman collapsed has had his actions recognised by his life-saving club.

Rory Piper, 15, from York, who helped to save a woman who had collapsed in the street

Rory Piper, 15, leapt into action when he saw the woman collapse onto the pavement on his way into town from his home in South Bank Avenue with a friend.

He said: "We were passing her on Windsor Street and saw her slip backwards and hit her head on the floor.

"I went over to check she was all right and found she didn't have any breathing and no pulse so I started trying to resuscitate her."A neighbour called a doctor, and when he arrived he took over from Rory. Within minutes an ambulance arrived and the crew carried on the life-saving attempts and took her to hospital.

The pupil of All Saints' School, who is a member of the Yorvik Life Saving Club, was praised for his calm actions by its chairwoman Marie Taylor.

And he was given with a special edition book on the history and skills of the Royal Life Saving Society in a special presentation attended by club members after one of their meetings..

Martin Gray, of the Yorvik Life Saving Club, said: "Rory's quick thinking and training helped the rescue services to deal with the incident and send the casualty on her way to a safe recovery. He did exactly the right thing."

And Rory's first teacher at the club Eliza Legard said: "It's nice that Rory understood the lessons and has been able to help this lady.

"We teach resuscitation as part of our theory lessons to children and the other members were really impressed with what Rory had done."

The Yorvik Life Saving Club has both child and adult members and meets every Friday from 8pm to 9pm at Yearsley swimming pool, Haxby Road, York. After completing his theory lessons, Rory is now working towards his practical bronze medallion, his first adult award, from the Royal Life Saving Society. Membership costs £10 per year for adults and £6 for children plus a weekly fee of £1.20 for children and £2.20 for adults.

For more details, contact Maurice Bell on 01904 636745.

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