A SEVEN-year-old boy has been hailed a superhero by his proud mum after he helped save her life when she had a diabetic seizure.

Quick-thinking Luke Charlton-Wood dialled 999 when he recognised that his mum Yvonne Charlton was having a potentially-fatal hypoglycaemic attack, or 'hypo'.

Luke explained to the call handler that his mum was diabetic and unresponsive and that his three-year-old brother Jude was upstairs asleep. Her then gave out the address for their home in Astley Bridge so the ambulance could find them.

The youngster, who stayed calm throughout the ordeal, managed to unlock the front door and passed the two paramedics the telephone so they could speak to the operator before resuscitating his mum with sugary carbohydrates.

Luke said: "I was watching something on my iPad when I noticed mum wasn't well. She was just lying on the couch and didn't say anything so I knew she needed a doctor. I rang 999 and told them about mum having diabetes and they came to help her. I love my mum so I wanted to look after her."

Ms Charlton, aged 38, who has had the condition for most her life, said she owes her life to her son, who attends Sharples Primary School.

She said: "I am so proud of Luke. I can't even begin to explain how much. He is into superheroes at the moment — batman is his favourite. But to me he is a real life superhero."

The busy mum, who also works in customer services, began to feel unwell on November 18 at about 8.50pm. Her blood sugar had dropped dangerously low after she did not have her evening meal at the normal time.

People with type 1 diabetes like Ms Charlton who must take insulin are most vulnerable to episodes of hypoglycaemia and without Luke's intervention she could have slipped into a diabetic coma.

She said: "All I know is that I was on the couch one minute and the next minute I had a hypo. I don't remember what happened.

"Luke had seen it before and recognised the symptoms. It doesn't happen often though thankfully, but he knows the drill and he knows what I need. He has been so brave. He stayed totally calm throughout even though his little brother was upstairs asleep. He didn't panic once."

To recognise his life saving actions, the North West Ambulance Service presented the youngster with a certificate for his bravery at a special school assembly yesterday in front of his fellow pupils, his mum and teachers.