Boy, 6, alerts officers after car rolls down bank

Macsen, left, and his brother Trystan were delighted to meet community support officer Joshua Carey and his colleagues

A six-year-old boy, who was in the car with his dad and younger brother when it rolled down a steep woodland embankment, has been praised for his quick-thinking to flag down a police vehicle.

Macsen, from Blaenavon, Torfaen, recognised the distinctive yellow of the car and waved to get the officers' attention after the brakes failed on his dad's car.

His mum said she was "in awe" of her son’s actions and attitude.

"One of the worst nightmares for us turned out to be one of the best days of my son's life," she said.

On 2 August, Meirion Evans, 53, was travelling with Macsen and four-year-old Trystan on the B4246 towards Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, at about 12:45 BST.

As he came round a tight bend, his brakes failed and he made a split-second decision to steer between a tree and a gate. The red Fiat 500L flipped as it turned and rolled twice before coming to a stop.

Mr Evans got the boys safely out the car before heading back to the main road to call for help - but Macsen was one step ahead.

The youngster had walked on in front of his dad and flagged down a car with two community support officers, Joshua Carey and Leah Murphy, inside.

"My husband was like 'how did you get here so fast, I haven't even called yet'," said Natasha Evans, 36.

She said the two boys only had "superficial bruising", but her husband "was a bit more knocked about by the airbag", although none of them needed hospital treatment.

Six-year-old Macsen is "obsessed" with police officers and hopes to one day become a police inspector

She added her son's chatty nature with the officers came as a shock because "he's not the most outgoing boy".

"For him to not only be rolled in the car, but to then have that initiative, I'm still in awe," she said.

"He is obsessed with police officers and the emergency services, he is besotted with them," she said.

She said all the teams that arrived on scene were "so brilliant" with Macsen, chatting to him and showing him their equipment - including letting him keep the breathalyser strip used, as per protocol, on his dad.

"He said '0.0 dad, you're not going to jail today'," said Mrs Evans.

The red Fiat 500L flipped as it turned and rolled twice down the woodland embankment with Meirion Evans and his two young sons inside

Gwent Police praised Macsen's "fantastic work”" adding: "Thanks to the youngster's quick thinking and bravery, everyone involved was okay and left the scene with only minor injuries."

Macsen "does get a bit upset" when he remembers the smashed-up car, which Mrs Evans said would be written off.

But she added the experience of meeting the officers, when his dream is to be a police inspector, had made up for it.

"He's not stopped talking about it," she said, while Macsen added he was "happy" to have helped his heroes.