Eight-year-old boy described as a hero

The eight-year-old contacted the fire services and successfully directed them to his neighbour's house

Dealing with an emergency can often be very stressful, but one eight-year-old from Watford has been praised for keeping cool, calm and collected after his neighbour's house caught fire.

Cody was asked to call emergency services by his parents while they went to help their neighbour one evening last month.

Not only did Cody contact the fire services, but he was also able to successfully guide them to the location of the fire where three crews took on the flames.

Luckily, Cody's neighbour hadn't been at home during the ordeal and they were later found safe. His parents had gone to the property to make sure the person living there was ok, but they quickly realised they couldn't handle what was going on alone, and that they needed professional help.

"We were all panicking, apart from Cody really. He just took it all in his stride," said Cody's mum Jo.

"We've always made him aware of what to do in an emergency, but he's never had to put it into practice until that night.

"He was really calm. When I came back a few minutes later, he was still on the phone - and was still chatting to them and telling them what was going on. We were really, really proud of him that night, so proud of him."

Cody's mum said her son was really calm while he was on the phone with emergency services

It wasn't just Cody's parents that praised his incredible efforts. He was presented with a "certificate of excellence" by the fire service after he made the call.

"Cody showed incredible presence of mind," said Hertfordshire County Council's chief fire officer, Darryl Keen.

"His superb skills when making the call showed a maturity beyond his years and impressed us with how calmly he listened and answered our questions in what was a potentially life-threatening situation.

"He was able to provide us with an address and exactly what had happened so far, what he could see and that both his mum and dad had gone to help but were away from the fire.

"Under the pressures of an emergency such as this we have many callers who find it difficult to relay this information accurately, but Cody was amazing. He should be extremely proud of himself."