Gateshead girl awarded for bravery after helping epileptic baby sister

Lucia dialled 999 in the early hours on 19 October with concerns about her two-year-old sister Blake

A 10-year-old girl from Gateshead has been awarded for her bravery after calling 999 when her baby sister was having a seizure.

Lucia Charlton, who was nine at the time, raised the alarm when two-year-old sister Blake, who is epileptic, was having a seizure in October.

The North East Ambulance Service team who helped her on the day gave her a certificate for being brave.

Lucia said she was "happy" to be able to help her sister when she needed it.

Paramedics Matthew Potts and Ian Lloyd and clinical care assistant Kev Taylor were deployed to the scene on 19 October.

Mr Potts said she showed "remarkable and showed maturity beyond her age":

"Blake's big sister Lucia stayed amazingly calm and called 999 before unlocking the doors and directing us quickly and calmly in from the street upstairs and to mam and baby so we could quickly assess and treat little Blake.

"Lucia's calmness and quick action ensured her little sister could be assessed and treated quickly before moving to the QE hospital.

"She should be very proud of how she managed the situation and we wanted her to know how impressed we were by her."

The ambulance team said it was "really special" to be reunited with the family to recognise Lucia

Lucia's mum Stephanie Wilde said it was "amazing" to see how well she reacted.

"I'm so proud of Lucia. I had taught her how to do Blake's rescue meds so she knew what to do but this was the first time she'd had to do it.

"I cried when we got the letter saying the ambulance service wanted to award Lucia for her bravery. The letter arrived on her birthday as well which was even more special."