Paperboy shrugs off praise for helping save pensioner

Connor called for help after seeing man lying on floor

A paper boy has been hailed a hero for his response to the sight of an elderly man lying motionless on the floor of his kitchen.

Kirriemuir 14-year-old Connor Kennedy, however, shrugged off his actions as “no big deal” after keeping his cool during his Saturday morning round to put a 999 response in motion and comfort the man until help arrived.

Thankfully the householder did not require hospital treatment, having struggled to get up after suffering a fall, but town first responder Claire McIntosh has said the teenager’s response could have been the difference between life and death in different circumstances.

Connor’s reaction to the situation has been praised on the Oor Kirrie Facebook page, but the Webster’s High School pupil said he had simply put his Scout first-aid training into action.

The teenager was delivering The Courier to the pensioner’s home when he spotted the man lying on the kitchen floor.

“I kind of knew what to do,” said Connor: “I phoned my boss, Ayaz Gul, at the shop and told him what had happened and he phoned 999.

“I’ve done first aid at the Scouts and I went through the stages of what we had been taught.

“I started banging on the kitchen window and could hear him speaking to me so I knew he was breathing.

“I just kept speaking to him until the ambulance could arrive,” he added.

Connor was modest about the social media praise of his actions, with some 500 likes for a posting about the teenager’s role. “It’s no big deal to me,” he said. His mum, Joyce, said: “I am so proud of him, but he’s the type of person who would do that for anyone.”

Picture: Paul Reid. Connor with his brother Lennox, 10, and mum Joyce.