The youngest recipient of a charity's award for bravery has been recognised for saving his mum’s life at just five years old.
Leo Emery, now aged seven of Haywood Village, received a Royal Humane Society award from the previous chief constable Andy Marsh at the police headquarters in Portishead last month.
The Royal Humane Society was founded in 1774 and is a charity which grants awards for acts of bravery for saving human life. Leo is the youngest of more than 80,000 to receive the accolade.
Due to coronavirus, he has waited 18 months for his certificate, which could have been presented over Zoom because of the lockdowns. However, the police wanted to make the occasion special for Leo and held the event in-person on June 23.
Leo’s grandad, David Vine, said in October 2019, mum Sophie fainted in the kitchen at the family home in Haywood Village, in Weston. He added that Leo managed to stay calm, contact the emergency services from his tablet and told the call handler both his and his grandparents’ addresses.
David, who Leo affectionally names Poppy, said: “It happened on a Friday night, my daughter Sophie fainted in the kitchen and knocked herself out. She had run out of phone battery, so Leo grabbed his tablet, called for the ambulance, told them where his grandparents live and put a cup under Sophie’s mouth, just in case she was going to be sick.
“At around 10pm, the police and ambulance came and Sophie was taken to hospital and we took Leo home. Thankfully, Sophie come out of the hospital the following day.
“Leo is such a wonderful boy and the police nominated him for the award. I know he’s my grandson and I’m biased, but he’s a smashing boy. He’s done a great thing, and his granny who is sadly no longer with us would be so, so proud. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate what he’s done.”
Mum Sophie Vine said after conducting some research, Leo is the youngest to receive the award from the Royal Humane Society. She added that she is ‘completely in awe’ of her son and it is ‘amazing’ to see him recognised for his bravery.
She added: “What I find amazing is that he knew to ring the emergency services from his tablet as my phone was out of battery. He was so calm and knew exactly what to do, we are all very proud of him.”
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