HEADLEY schoolboy Dennis Baldwin, 10, is being championed as a life-saving hero after he used skills he gained at a first-aid course which possibly saved his grandfather’s life.

Dennis found his grandfather, Robert Hollingdale, in his chair at home suffering from what he suspected was a heart attack and was confident enough to respond to the situation appropriately. He checked Mr Hollingdale’s vital signs and put him in the correct position to ease the symptoms of a heart attack. The ambulance was then called and a first responder arrived to take over.

The British Heart Foundation’s Heartstart course, that Dennis had taken at The Holme Church of England Primary School in Headley, covered the skills needed and gave him the experience that enabled him to remain calm throughout the ordeal, even though his grandmother and sister, who were also present, were unsure of the correct action to take.

“I wasn’t scared, I knew what to do because I had done it already at school,” Dennis said. “I thought my granddad was having a heart attack and I responded to it.”

Senior children at The Holme are given the opportunity to take the first-aid course, run by year four teacher Erika MacLaughlan.

As Dennis’ grandfather and father had both suffered heart attack scares previously, he thought it prudent to attend last year’s course.

Miss MacLaughlan said: “We are very proud of Dennis being able to act in the way he did and not panic when faced with a situation that none of us would like to be in. It goes to show how important it is for all of us to know basic first-aid skills.”

Although Mr Hollingdale is still undergoing tests, he is back at work. But the outcome could have been different if it had not been for his grandson’s actions.