A paperboy has been hailed as a hero after saving the life of a pensioner on his route – because he noticed bottles of milk building up on his doorstep.
Jake Chisholm, 15, spotted two pints of milk instead of the usual one outside elderly William Osman’s house in Cheltenham, Glos., on Tuesday.
He peered through the letterbox to check and see if everything was alright and saw the pensioner lying motionless at the bottom of the stairs.
Jake called out to Mr Osman and managed to get him to lift his hand before racing to alert neighbours and call emergency services.
The quick-thinking paperboy said: ”Whenever I see more than a pint of milk I always think there might be something wrong.
”I know a lot of my customers are elderly people, so I like to look out for that kind of thing. This time it turned out something was wrong.
”He was just lying on the ground. I was very worried, but he managed to lift a hand when I called out.”
Jake went to Mr Osman’s neighbours and told them about the ailing pensioner and they called emergency services.
He was rushed to Cheltenham General Hospital, where he is now in serious but stable condition.
Jake added: ”I’m just glad I could help. I don’t think it’s anything special and it’s not something anyone else wouldn’t have done.
”I’m committed to my round and haven’t ever had a day off, but I don’t think this makes me a better paperboy than others.”
Kevan Blackadder, editor of the Gloucestershire Echo, the paper Jake delivers for, said: ”I’m so impressed with Jake. He clearly takes time out to keep an eye on his customers and he’s a real credit to his generation.”
