Ivan Palmer, St John's Ambulance commander, with Josh Dodds-Mills

QUICK-thinking Soham teenager Josh Dodds-Mills saved a toddler from plummeting out of a first-floor window before administering first aid to his incapacitated mother.

Josh, 16, was readying himself for school at home in Heron Close in February last year, when he noticed the child crawling dangerously close to the open window of a house just yards away.

Alerting his dad, Josh sprang into action, traversing a couple of garden fences before managing to gain entry to the house via an open ground floor window.

Josh, who is a trained St John’s Ambulance cadet, dashed upstairs and grabbed the toddler as he stood precariously in front of the open window before turning his attention to his mother, putting her into the recovery position while help arrived.

When he eventually made it into school that morning, slightly late for his first lesson, Josh was given a detention by his tutor Simon Butler, though he did manage to get out of it when he eventually explained what had happened!

This week, in recognition of his bravery and quick-thinking, Josh received a national certificate from St John’s Ambulance commander Ivan Palmer and was promoted to sergeant at a ceremony held in Soham Village College, where he is studying for his GCSEs.